World Trade Center (3 Stars)

I didn't enjoy the film. For long sections the picture is so dark that I found it difficult to follow what was happening. I'm sure that's realistic, but I don't watch films to experience exactly how little the characters could see. I much prefer the way films handled night scenes in the 1960's, with a blue tint that tells us it's night without actually making the screen almost black.

I was also disappointed that we never actually see the planes hit the towers. I understand the decision, but those are the images that immediately come to mind when you think of September 11th. Perhaps "World Trade Center" is too concerned with realism for my taste. I found it a rather dull experience.

Success Rate:  + 0.5

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Kung Fu Panda 4 (5 Stars)

If I'm gauging his reaction correctly, this is the best film that Oliver's seen so far. He didn't laugh much, even though the film is a comedy, but he was shaking with excitement. It's a fast paced martial arts film that's perfect for young children.

There's so much going on that I felt like I needed a scorecard to keep up. What I mean is that there are so many characters running around and fighting. The basic plot is simple. Po the panda has reached the level of Dragon Warrior, but Master Shifu tells him that it's time for him to advance. He has to give up fighting and become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. He has to choose a successor, but the candidates are all so good that he can't decide. Before he makes a choice a village is destroyed by a new enemy, known only as the Chameleon. She's a shape shifter who's able to absorb the kung fu skills of anyone she fights. So Po has to fight as the dragon warrior for one last time.

I remember watching the first Kung Fu Panda film with my friend Pete in Birmingham. I don't remember exactly when it was, but it's not mentioned in my blog, so it must have been before I started writing in September 2010. Pete owned the film on video, and he was totally excited about it. Pete often invited me to his home for a meal, but we rarely watched films together, so it was a special occasion. (As far as I can remember, the only other films that we watched together were "Kill Bill Vol 2" and Peter Jackson's "King Kong").

I never watched the two sequels, so I need to catch up. For Oliver and for me. It seems like "Kung Fu Panda 4" is the final film in the series, so I'll wait for a four-film box set to be released.

Suicide Squad (4 Stars)

I've often said that I like bad girls. I need to clarify what I mean.

This is the sort of bad girl I like. She's bad, and she lets everyone know she's bad.

This is the sort of bad girl I don't like. She's bad, but she pretends to be good.

Let me test my readers, to see if you've been paying attention. Here are photos of two more bad girls. I like one, and I don't like the other.

Do I like this one?

Or do I like this one?

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Black Adam (3 Stars)

Black Adam is a character featured in DC Comics. I'd never heard of him, so I assumed that he was a new character, but I've discovered that he's been around since 1945. In the early comics he was a villain, but recent DC Comics have portrayed him as a hero, or rather an anti-hero. Not knowing the comics, I can judge the film on its own merits.

Teth-Adam (as he's called for most of the film) is a slave from the Kingdom of Kahndaq, a fictional country that was located somewhere near Egypt. The King of Kahndaq, Ahk-Ton, craved a rare metal called Eternium which would give him great powers, so he enslaved his people and made them dig for it. A stone made of Eternium granted great powers to a slave who overthrew the kingdom and then disappeared.

In the present day, Kahndaq is being exploited by a criminal organisation called the Intergang. An archaeologist searches for a legendary crown made of Eternium which she hopes will give her the power to rid Kahndaq of the Intergang, but her search leads to the awakening of Teth-Adam after 5000 years of sleep. Adam battles with the Intergang, but Amanda Waller sends the Justice Society (Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone and Atom Smasher) to apprehend him, because she believes he's not a hero, he's a menace to Kahndaq and the rest of the world.

As I've said repeatedly, Marvel makes better films while DC makes better television series. In that respect, "Black Adam" is a typical DC film. There are nice special effects when the heroes and villains fight, but the problem is with the characters. I couldn't relate to any of them, not even Dwayne Johnson as Teth-Adam, who is annoyingly aloof, not even managing a smile until late in the film. Hawkman is arrogant in his personal definition of who is and isn't a hero. Doctor Fate is mildly interesting (and Pierce Brosnan is always a great actor) in his oblique mystical remarks, but his actual powers aren't clearly defined. Cyclone and Atom Smasher are just young kids who tag along and do what they're told. I think Cyclone could have been a good character if she'd had more screen time. As for Amanda Waller, I've always disliked her. (The character, not the actress). She's willing to commit any devious activities, even outright crimes, to do what she thinks is right. The ends justify the means. Or so they say.

Black Adam is a dull character. I've criticised recent Marvel films for having too much humour, but Dwayne Johnson should have been a funnier character, if only slightly. The mid-credits scene is a hook for a sequel, but unless there are big changes I hope he won't be brought back.

The Woman King (4½ Stars)

This is a role that I wouldn't have expected Viola Davis to play: a warrior woman. And yet she carries the role magnificently. It's a tribute to her acting ability.

The film takes place in 1823 and focuses on the Agojie, an all-female army that fought for the kingdom of Dahomey. It was founded in the mid-1600's for purely practical reasons: there was a lack of men in the kingdom. By the time the film took place the Agojie had reached such a high standing that it wasn't allowed to look at them as they marched through Dahomey.

Viola Davis plays Nanisca, the general of the Agojie. The new king, Ghezo, relies strongly on her to protect Dahomey against the Oyo Empire. The Oyo are the regional leaders, and they demand tributes from the Dahomey, food and people. The Oyo sell Dahomey citizens to European traders as slaves. The Oyo become greedy and demand ever bigger tributes, so Nanisca is called upon to lead the resistance.

Nanisca has a personal grievance with Oba, the leader of the Oyo. When she was young she was captured by the Oyo and repeatedly raped by Oba. She wants revenge, but only if her king allows it.

Nawi is a young woman who's too stubborn to accept the husband picked for her by her parents, so she's given to the Agojie for training. This is intended to be a punishment, but it's the life that Nawi wants to lead.

"Woman King" doesn't show slavery the way it's usually portrayed. Usually we think of white men going to Africa, capturing black people and taking them back to Europe as slaves. In the film it's different. We see the Oyo selling their enemies to the Portugese slave traders. When the Dahomey gain the upper hand, they capture Oyo and sell them to the Portugese. The film shows the Africans sharing the guilt of slavery.

"Woman King" is a powerful film with savage battle scenes. There's also an emotional backstory about the relationship between Nanisca and Nawi. Nanisca is a harsh, highly disciplined warrior, but she has strong emotions that she struggles to keep hidden. It's a pleasure to watch her on screen.

The Suicide Squad (5 Stars)

This is what I call a BBBM. It's a Big Budget B-Movie. It has a trashy feeling to it which increases as the film progresses. It was a lot less successful than the first film, for reasons I don't understand. It's definitely a better film. I even voted it the best film of 2021.

Once more, the premise is that a team of super-villains is put together to do a job that none of the super-heroes want to do. If they die on the job, who cares? They're villains anyway. If they succeed, their prison sentences are reduced by 10 years each, which admittedly isn't much for someone who's been found guilty of killing 23 people. I'd demand a full pardon as a reward for doing a job that I might not survive.

As in the first film, the team is assembled by the government agent Amanda Waller. In the first film her ruthlessness made us suspect that she's not much of a good guy, but in the second film we see that she's downright evil. The villains are the real heroes. Even Harley Quinn. She might be deranged, but she has lines that she won't cross.

If I had to name one fault in the film, I'd say that Harley Quinn doesn't have enough screen time. It's a team film, so the action is shared by the six team members. I would rather have seen Harley Quinn doing all the fighting, but that's just me. After three films, she still hasn't had the solo film the character deserves. Maybe the next one.

But when she bursts into action she's magnificent.

That's not to say I don't like the other characters. I particularly like King Shark.

Idris Elba is outstanding as Bloodsport. In fact, he's outstanding in every role he plays. He's one of my favourite actors.

They have to fight a giant starfish. As silly as that may sound, it leads to some incredible fighting scenes. Can you see Harley Quinn on the ground in front of the starfish?

Success Rate:  - 1.2

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The Suicide Squad (5 Stars)

I'll keep spoilers to a minimum, because this film is still in the cinemas. It's a film that you really have to see, even if you didn't like the first Suicide Squad film, which was called "Suicide Squad", without a definite article. That's confusing. There may be a subtle joke intended, but I don't get it.

A good friend, whose opinions on films I usually agree with, warned me in advance that this sequel is much better than the first film. That's the only sort of spoiler I appreciate with a new film. After watching the first 10 minutes I disagreed. A group of eight villains, of whom I only knew Harley Quinn and Captain Boomerang, were hurriedly united as a team. No character development. I groaned. Then they went into action, and within another five minutes they were all killed. Except for Harley Quinn. I was relieved. This was just the introduction to set up the film. The six new characters didn't need any character development, because they weren't going to be around long enough. Within the context of the film they were only intended as cannon fodder. None of them were expected to survive. Their only purpose was to distract the enemy from the arrival of a second team, the Suicide Squad. With a definite article. In a flashback sequence we get to know them all.

• Idris Elba is Bloodsport, a weapons expert.
• John Cena is Peacemaker, another weapons expert.
• Sylvester Stallone is King Shark.
• David Dastmalchian is Polka-Dot Man.
• Daniela Melchior is Ratcatcher 2.

I've been assured that they're all well known DC villains. I rarely read DC comics, so they're new to me. I'll leave it up to other reviewers to tell me whether they're accurate portrayals of the comic book characters.

The film has a glorious grindhouse aura about it. The gore is exaggerated, and it can't be taken seriously. I couldn't help laughing out loud at some of the deaths. I feel ashamed of myself, I should be able to control myself better.

The action scenes are ridiculously over-the-top. Robert Rodriguez would be proud to make a film like this.

Harley Quinn is prominent, but not to the extent she stood out in the first film. She's still magnificently crazy. My only regret is that for most of the film she doesn't wear her usual Harley Quinn costume.

The reason for the improvement over the first film can be summed up in two words: James Gunn. He's a far superior director to David Ayer, who made the first film. James Gunn already contributed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as director of the two Guardians of the Galaxy films. They're both very good films, and he's getting better at making super-hero films as he goes along. I can hardly wait for "Guardians of the Galaxy 3".

Suicide Squad (4 Stars)

This review will probably be short because I'm suffering from writer's block. On the other hand, does it matter? When I look back at my first film reviews in 2010, they were almost all short. I only wrote occasional long reviews, such as my overview of the Highlander franchise, which I consider to have been one of my best posts, even though it didn't receive many views. Maybe I should start pinning a featured post to the homepage of my blog to encourage my readers to read what I think's reading, rather than relying on Google to send people to posts that accidentally contain topical keywords.

I watched "Suicide Squad" today to remind myself about the film after watching "Birds of Prey" yesterday. For me both films are all about Harley Quinn, exquisitely played by Margot Robbie, however many supporting characters are running around. For that reason I'll compare the two films in relation to her. So, to answer the question which of the two films I like more, I slightly prefer "Suicide Squad", because Harley Quinn is madder, sexier, and overall more enjoyable.

I watched the extended cut today, which is 11 minutes longer than the version I watched in the cinema four years ago. That's too long for me to remember the differences. According to what I've read, the additional time features more backstory about the squad's characters, and it gives the Joker more screen time. Jared Leto is so bleh as the Joker. I'd rather have an extra 11 minutes of Harley Quinn bashing heads.

I'd forgotten that the whole film is one mission, with only a small break for drinks in the middle. That makes the film very compact, despite its running time of two hours.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Widows (4 Stars)

A thief called Harry Rawlings steals $2 million in cash from Jamal Manning, a gang boss in Chicago. After a police chase the getaway van is destroyed, killing Henry and his three accomplices and burning the money in a fire. The next day Jamal, who wants to go straight by being elected as alderman, threatens Harry's wife Veronica. He says he'll kill her if she doesn't pay him back the $2 million within a week. He tells her the police won't help her because they don't care. She's a black woman and they won't listen to her.

This is the biggest plot hole in the story. Why would a gang boss think that Harry's widow would have so much money lying around? In her position I would have run to the police regardless, and if they didn't help me I would have left town as quickly as possible. Even if she doesn't have $2 million in cash lying around Veronica is fairly affluent, so she could easily afford to rent a hotel room in another town, preferably somewhere where the police are less racist.

Veronica gives in. She promises to deliver the money that she doesn't yet have. In her husband's notebook she finds details of a crime he intended to commit, a robbery of $5 million in cash. She contacts the other three widows and asks them to help her. Two of them agree. Then they begin to make plans.

This is a complex story with many minor details, but I won't say any more about the plot. It's a tough, gritty film with harsh violence. Viola Davis puts on an Oscar winning performance as Veronica Rawlings. If she's not at least nominated for an Oscar I'll be severely disappointed. I was also greatly impressed by Colin Farrell as the alderman candidate Jack Mulligan. I've seen him in a lot of films, and this is a very untypical role for him. His face is easy to recognise, of course, but his stance and his mannerisms are so different from anything I've seen him do before.

This isn't a perfect film by any means, but if you want to spend two hours watching a good action thriller, you won't be disappointed.

Prisoners (3 Stars)

They say that a good film can never be too long, but a bad film can never be too short. After watching this film I have to ask why it lasted two and a half hours. The story could have been told in 90 minutes.

Two young girls disappear while playing together. Shortly afterwards Alex Jones is arrested, because he was seen parked close to their house. Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) releases Alex after two days because he's convinced that he didn't commit the crime. Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), the father of one of the girls, thinks differently. He captures Alex and keeps him tied up in an abandoned house where he tortures him to get a confession. However much he beats him Alex insists that he knows nothing about the girls.

Meanwhile Detective Loki is pursuing another suspect, Bob Taylor. Bob confesses to abducting the girls, but it's discovered that he's been creating elaborate fantasies, play-acting that he's a child killer. He buys children's clothes and covers them with pig's blood, then buries child mannequins in his garden. He might be crazy, but he's no killer.

The plot follows twists and turns, with repeated clues that lead to dead ends, just like a maze. I don't mind films that move slowly, as long as it intensifies the suspense, but in the case of "Prisoners" I was just frustrated that the plot didn't move along faster. After the first 90 minutes I was thinking to myself, "Not another hour! And the plot is still going nowhere!"

On the plus side, there's brilliant acting, especially from Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhall and Terrence Howard (the father of the other girl). The problems all lie with the director Denis Villeneuve, who has already proved that he's incapable of making a short film. See "Sicario", "Arrival" and "Blade Runner 2049".

During the film Detective Loki reads a news report online about the suicide of Keller Dover's father. There's nothing wrong with this article, but take a look at the other article on the page about health care. The first paragraph begins with the words, "The high cost of health care is why the needs of the country are not met". It's an interesting article with valid criticism of the current state of health care in the USA. You can click on the picture above to enlarge the article to make it easier to read. I could write a lengthy post on this subject itself, if it weren't irrelevant to the film. All I'll do here is point out that the same text is repeated in the second and fourth columns. That's sloppy.

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Suicide Squad (4 Stars)

Best. Film Poster. Ever.

Yes, I do love this poster. It's so cool, The mixture of psychedelic art and photography is just perfect. Having said that, I have to admit that the quality of the film itself doesn't live up to the artwork.

When I compare Marvel and DC on the screen, I have a fixed opinion. Marvel makes the best films, DC makes the best TV series. Usually when I say that to my friends it starts an argument. They're quick to name good and bad examples to contradict me. Of course, there are exceptions, but in general I consider myself right. Look at the absolutely brilliant films Marvel has made in recent years: for instance, the Iron Man trilogy, the Captain America films and "Guardians of the Galaxy". What has DC done that even comes close? The Superman films were poor. The Dark Knight trilogy was good, I admit, but it didn't reach the level of the Marvel films.

Then look at DC's recent TV series: to take just three examples, "Smallville", "Arrow" and "Gotham". They are all perfect in their own ways. "Daredevil" is very good, but it doesn't reach the level of "Arrow". "Jessica Jones" is disappointing, while "Agents of SHIELD" has a lot of promise but is uneven, some episodes succeeding better than others.

It's difficult for me to write about "Suicide Squad" without giving away spoilers, but I'll try to do my best. It's about a team of super villains assembled by a government agent, Amanda Waller, to tackle extreme threats to America and the rest of mankind. It's called a suicide squad because the members are expendable; they're criminals that nobody would miss if they died.

As in all team films, the problem is to introduce all the characters and still leave time for the rest of the film. "Suicide Squad" is less successful than "The Avengers" in introducing the characters before the action starts. Deadshot and Harley Quinn are presented in great detail, whereas Killer Croc and Captain Boomerang are merely background characters who seem to be tagging along for the ride. When they finally did something my reaction was, "Oh, they're still here?" Colonel Rick Flag, the army man who leads the Suicide Squad into battle, seems like a superfluous babysitter. It's not until late in the film that he starts to reveal some of his personality, but by then the audience already wishes he were dead.

An irony in the film is that the first threat that the Suicide Squad has to deal with is caused by a supernatural being, the Enchantress, that Amanda Waller wanted to use in the team. The question is, would the squad have been needed if she hadn't caused problems by creating the squad? This irony would have strengthened the film if it had been developed, but by ignoring it it seems more like a plot hole.

The film's greatest strength is Harley Quinn, as most critics have been quick to point out. Her brand of insanity makes her immediately likeable. There are already talks of a second Suicide Squad film, but rather than do that there should just be a Harley Quinn spin off. Preferably without the Joker, because this film's incarnation of the Joker, as played by Jared Leto, is the weakest on-screen version ever. He pales in comparison to Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger.

I watched the film dubbed into German, as is typical for foreign films shown in Germany. I was greatly impressed by Harley Quinn's German voice, which completely expressed the character's madness, maybe even more perfectly than the original actress, Margot Robbie. The German voice was provided by the politician Anne Helm, pictured above, who is best known from providing Anna Kendrick's voice in German films. She did an excellent job, proving that German dubbing is the best in the world.

This is a much better film than this year's "Batman vs Superman", but DC still has a long way to go to catch up with Marvel. Even the computer generated special effects in the final scenes weren't up to Marvel's standards. DC should consider giving up films and sticking to what it does best: television series.

Beautiful Creatures (2 Stars)

Ethan Wate is a high school junior in the small town Gatlin, South Carolina. Everyone around him is highly religious. Ethan has nothing against Christianity, he just doesn't like it being pushed in his face all the time. I can relate to him. Even his ex-girlfriend Emily tells him she prays every night that he won't go to Hell. Poor Ethan.

The owners of Ravenwood estate, a mansion that's been abandoned for years, return to town. 15-year-old Lena joins Ethan's class. Everyone else rejects Lena because her family is supposed to be devil worshippers, but Ethan immediately falls for her. This makes him an outcast in the town.

Lena loves Ethan in return, but she warns him to stay away from her. The Ravenwood family aren't human, they belong to a race of casters, who look identical to humans, but they can perform powerful magic spells. On a caster's 16th birthday he either becomes good or evil. Lena warns Ethan that she might change completely and kill him. The change to good or evil can be random, but it can also be influenced by grief or happiness. There is a prophecy that Lena will be the most powerful caster of all, so Lena's mother, a dark caster, wants her to become evil and destroy all humans on Earth. To make sure this happens she wants to kill Ethan the day before Lena's 16th birthday. Lena's uncle is a good caster and wants to prevent this happening.

I like teenage supernatural romance stories. I always have, but this film is a great disappointment. Somehow it lacks the magic touch to make it interesting. I found myself yawning with boredom throughout. The supporting cast put on good performances, but the two main characters are exceedingly dull. By the middle of the film I was thinking "Go on and kill, Ethan. So what?" Maybe the novel that inspired the film is good. The film isn't.

The Architect (2 Stars)

Leo Waters has been working as an architect for 20 years. At the beginning of his career he designed a group of buildings that he called Eden Court. Low price mass housing. He was proud of his achievement, so he doesn't understand why the residents are now campaigning to have it ripped down. The problem is that the attractive circular structure and the good visibility across the centre have made it ideal for gangs to develop. In all the years he's kept a model of the court as a trophy, but he's never been back to see what it has become. He lives with his family in a beautiful little house which he also designed. His own family is just as unhappy as the families in Eden Court. His architecture has caused unhappiness for the residents of Eden Court, whereas his personality has caused unhappiness for his own family.

This is a film which I don't quite understand. Of course, I understand what's happening. I understand the conversations, the arguments, and the moral dilemmas of the characters involved. What I don't understand is the message that the director wants to give with the film. The film is based on a successful play by the Scottish playwright David Greig. In listening to the interviews on the DVD it became apparent that one important plot line, Leo's relationship with his daughter, has been omitted from the film apart from small hints. Including it might have improved the film's intelligibility. But as it stands, the film is weak.

Knight and Day [Guest Writer] (4 Stars)

June Havens (Cameron Diaz) finds her everyday life tangled with that of a secret agent (Tom Cruise) who has realized he isn't supposed to survive his latest mission. As their campaign to stay alive stretches across the globe, they soon learn that all they can count on is each other.

I had some mixed feelings about this movie if I'm to be honest because I'm a bit biased against the starring actors. I'm not the hugest fan of Tom. I think his acting is somewhat bland although I have a few scenes from a few good movies that I have enjoyed him in. Cameron Diaz is a sweetheart and I loved her from the moment that I saw her in "There's Something About Mary". I think everyone saw that film and fell just a tiny touch in love with Diaz and her quirky, off-brand sense of humor. This movie kind of felt like it was half serious and half humorous, meshing these two characters and actor personalities together. I'm not sure if it was meant to be completely funny or completely serious or maybe just meant to be what it turned out to be but whatever the case is, it was a pretty nice film. I have to admit there were some times where I was scratching my head and wondering what the heck was going on as Tom did his shifty spy work trying to be secretive since we are pretty much seeing this movie from Diaz's perspective so we are about as clueless as she is throughout the film. There were also parts that had me laughing up a storm as Diaz went through her silly antics and shaking my head saying, "Oh Cameron, you're so crazy!" Overall a pretty good film with a bit of love, laughter and action. No complaints here.

Law Abiding Citizen (4 Stars)

This film is a thrilling story with unusual character motivation. Clyde Shelton is a law abiding citizen. He's a family fan who never does wrong. One day two crooks break into his home. During the robbery one of them kills his wife and daughter. The evidence is too weak for a conviction, but one of the crooks, the one who committed the murder, cuts a deal with the prosecution and testifies against his partner. As a result the murderer gets a light sentence, while the other crook is given the death penalty.

Are you with me so far? Good.

Fast forward 10 years. Shelton is a changed man. Disgusted by his wife and daughter's killer walking around free, he decides to take the law into his own hands. He takes revenge not just on the killer, but on everyone who was involved in the trial. After confessing to a series of murders he's arrested, but he manages to continue his revenge plot while sitting in prison. Does he have a helper on the outside? That's the question the prosecution lawyer has to answer.

Gerard Butler delivers an excellent performance. Apart from the one incident where he stabs his fellow cellmate to death we have sympathy with him. Maybe that scene should have been omitted, because all his other victims were those who he considered to be guilty. The cellmate was an innocent bystander. Nevertheless, haven't we all felt that way at some time in our lives? We know who is guilty of crimes, but we see them walk free because the law doesn't have enough proof to convict them? Don't we feel frustrated and tell ourselves that we could do a better job than the police or the legal system? Clyde Shelton represents us as someone who feels wronged and tries to make a difference.

I might have given this film 5 stars, except for the bland performance of Jamie Foxx as the prosecution lawyer. Foxx has never been a good actor, in my eyes. I've never seen him play a role convincingly. There are a dozen other actors who could have played the part better. Nevertheless, this is a film worth watching.