Rating History
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The King's Man (2021)
The King's Man, set as a prequel to the Kingsman franchise, is compelling, exceptional, and enjoyable, thanks to the sterling acting chops of Ralph Fiennes. Unlike the previous fare of tightly woven action-packed spy parodies that Kingsman fans are familiar with, this prequel shifts gears into a heavier tone and theme that is grimmer and darker. This shift in tone combined with the need for greater character development unfortunately slows down the build-up of the story. The grief and grimness in the tone exposes an uncomfortable balancing act needed to bring coherence to the signature comedic heart of this franchise. The story builds around Fiennes as the pacifist protagonist, an English gentleman who walks the corridors of power, while at the same time, has a power network of household maids, butlers and maids – his invisible secret service quite capable of breaking even the best of secret codes – a satirical best! We get served a free European history lesson as Vaughn creatively and cleverly crafts the tale around key historical figures of World War 1, complete with a buffet of antagonists: from the likes of Rasputin to even Matahari: one too many and too one-dimensional for my liking. Daniel Bruhl's talents were underutilised, and I hope he will return for a meatier role in the next one! My only quibble is with the action sequences that needed some serious editing and the length of the film that tested my patience. Despite the uneven flow, The King's Man ranks as my no. 2 favourite of Michael Vaughn's "The Kingsman" universe: for being the heart of soul of this franchise. Go watch it, and you'll know what I mean.
Chrisanne C true -
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Amazing. It will be difficult to top this one. In the entire Spiderman universe, this has got to be the best. Spider-Man: No Way Home is more than just a Spiderman tribute. It is more than just a dedication to all the faithful fans. It is more than just the redemption of Sony for how it had previously handled the Spiderman franchise. This film puts Spiderman front and centre in the Marvel Multi-Verse, where he rightfully belongs! Closes a long, long chapter, and now opens a new one! It's also for fans who have grown with Tom Holland as the new Spider-man and now see the world with greater maturity and growing into adulthood. It's emotionally bittersweet, yet satisfying close. The film is not perfect but it checks all the right boxes. For Marvel fans, you cannot NOT watch this one as it ties directly to the multiverse and the What-If TV series. I believe that going to be the most talked about Spiderman film for a long, long time because there's so much to digest in this film in terms of the story-telling. So please go watch it soonest possible so that the rest of us who are going to watch a few more times can finally talk about it...properly!
Chrisanne C true -
Tenet (2020)
When it comes to Christopher Nolan's work, I know I won't be disappointed and will happily watch it multiple times. Tenet lived up to expectations as an audacious sci-fi cerebral "heaven". The script - sharp and intelligent; the direction - excellent as always; the cast - so so good; the camerawork and cinematography - beautifully spectacular; and last but not least, the score by Ludwig Goransson - sublime. Simply brilliant. I'd wish I had paid more attention during physics class but then again, it's not too late to read up on inversion and entropy! I had fun. If you're looking for a thinking film where you can bring your brain into the cinema and be suitably entertained in wonder, this is the one. Enjoy.
Chrisanne C true -
Soul (2020)
Soul was deeply moving, and is a well made animation meant really to be appreciated by adults. It's a good film to sit through that inspires you to taste all of life in its simplicity - appreciating the deep values of the mundaneness of life and joys of everyday life and the daily routines, and question what "success" and "achievements" actually mean. My favourite scene was when they were in the barber shop. That was one of the most nuanced scenes I have sat through in a long time. It's a great film to think about finishing well in life, and what that means to each of us. Great work from Pixar. Loved it.
Chrisanne C true