Outtakes Weekly Report! 26/5/21

[vc_row][vc_column]Back[vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Its that time again! Weve had releases up the ho-ha, weve had films coming left right and centre, and were all happily back in the cinema. So, time to ask the age of question – is anything worth actually watching?

Best Movie of the Week

Raya and the Last Dragon (or any big releases finally in the cinema!)

This weeks best is reserved for all those movies, from Raya and the Last Dragon to Nomadland, that we can now sit and enjoy in a cinema filled with an excited audience. I loved Raya, but more importantly, it sums up my overall excitement to be back. The cinema is a home for movie-lovers, for dreamers and people with imaginations that are way too big. To have this place back is a godsend!

As for the available films, they teeter between great and mixed, but it doesnt matter – these movies are fun, special and exciting in the cinema, and they represent how much nicer it is to see big-screen entertainment…on the big screen!

Still, Raya is excellent, with gorgeous animation, brilliantly complex characterisations, awesome action and superb storytelling. Its weighed down by some mixed comedy, but overall its an undeniably fantastic experience.

Watch it at your local cinema!

4/5 Stars

Worst Movie of the Week

Army of the Dead

What a shame this movie is. After Synder blew me away with the Synder Cut, Army of the Dead comes out just as lifeless as the shamblers it showcases. With a tone so mixed it veers from wartime political epic to Zombieland, Army of the Dead is painfully unaware of what it wants to be. What it should be is superb – its cast, its director and its setting have all seen incredible work, but the film falters consistently.

There are some good elements here and there – Tig Notaro is fantastic, coming in last minute to replace the cancelled Chris DEila, and the time-loop theory makes it worth at least a singular watch, but the dreadful ending and mixed characterisations make for an experience that is far from the heights of Dawn of the Dead. Its undeniably ambitious – something to be praised for sure, but ambition and quality are two separate things.

2.5/5

Watch it here: www.netflix.com

Joes Recommended Movie

Oxygen

I may never stop singing the praises of Alexandre Ajas insanely brilliant horror/thriller hybrid. This claustrophobic, gorgeously put together masterclass in tension includes a career-high performance by the always superb Mlanie Laurent and a script so gripping it will keep you guessing until the final scene. A lot of critics felt the final third let the entire piece down, but I disagree – for me, the final sequence only confirmed that Aja is truly a master of storytelling.

4/5 Stars

Watch it here: www.netflix.com

 

And that, as they say, is that! This has been an exciting week in movies and with big releases like The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and Cruella coming out next week, it only promises to get better and better.

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