Dan Says its Alright

 Possibly the most tedious film question ever asked is, "is Die Hard a Christmas movie?" Violent Night says "what if Die Hard WAS a Christmas movie?" Its an excellent mix of two genres. First and foremost it's a (very violent) man in a tight spot action movie but hidden beneath is a traditional Christmas story of people becoming believers and a jaded main character getting their feative mojo back.  The film success is largely down to David Harbour's fantastic turn as a disillusioned St Nick. His ability to project charisma even when appearing tired and fed up carries the day, or in this case, night. He also cleverly avoids the trap of playing Santa too dark, for all his boozing and necessary killing he is still recognisably Father Christmas. The rest of the cast are all decent as well, with John Leguiziamo making a fun villian. Even the child character manages to not be annoying, although some of her dialogue hints that they had originally wanted a younger a...

 Wakanda Forever somehow manages to be far too long while simultaneously leaving the world building, plot and some characters underbaked. Given Ryan Coogler is an excellent director and how much experience Marvel has with these films by now its hard to believe real world events haven't played some part in the patchiness. You feel that real world intrusion right from the off, with Shuri, played by (reported anti-vaxxer) Letitia Wright scrambling to devise a cure for her brothers illness. While I'm sure Disney would really not like you to ponder the potential irony of this scene they most definitely do want you to feel the real life loss of Chadwick Boseman and you would need a heart of stone not to be kicked in the feels by images and mentions of the much missed former star. Backing up the emotion are some great performances, particularly a barn storming showing from Angela Barnes who really should have had more screen time. The film is more of an ensemble piece than most Marvel...

 The menu is a squid ink black culinary satire that skewers the sycophants and disrespectful tourists that steal the joy from being a high end chef (or any form of artist) while also being a three Michelin star dark comedy and acting as a power fantasy of sorts for those in the service industry. The film centres around Anya Taylor-Joy's Margot as she accompanies potential boyfriend Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) to an island to eat at the most exclusive of restraunts. The restraunt, and indeed whole island, are presided over by Chef Slowik who is idolised by his diners and inspires complete devotion from his cult-like staff. The customers comprise the worst, but all too familiar, "enjoyers" of fine dining. There's a hilariously self-indulgent critic, some wall street bro's there for the bragging rights, a washed up, name dropping celebrity and an ultra rich couple with no appreciation for the privilege they enjoy. Perhaps most ridiculous of all is Tyler himself, a gate ke...

 Black Adam is a bit of a mess, but in the most entertaining way. Indeed, when most modern superhero films tend to drip feed world building to the viewer over multiple entries, the kitchen sink approach of DC's latest offering is actually quite refreshing.  The start is slow, with some fairly dull backstory leading up to a couple of cookie cutter characters discovering a crown that has been hidden for thousands of years (deapite the fact its just sitting in a cave on the outskirts of a major city). This leads to Black Adam being awakened and business picking sharply up. The fight scenes are great, selling speed and impact in a way the competition doesn't bother trying to. Props also to the costume designers who put up some of the best looking comic book suit interpretations yet put to film, even if the big bad ends up looking a bit naff. Dwayne Johnson has been waiting quite some time to get the titular (not really anti) hero to the screen and as you can imagine he certainly l...

 Ticket to Paradise feels like something of a throwback. Its been a while since a studio got two A-listers together for a big budget, cinema release rom com. Anyone hankering for a dose of classic movie star romance is likely to leave happy. The set up for the film could be a rom com plot on its own, college graduate goes to Bali for a break before starting work and meets a guy who she decides to marry and live a simple life with instead of becoming a hotshot lawyer. Thats all taken care of in the first few minutes and the movie focuses on her estranged parents, played by Julie Roberts and George Clooney, who put their differences aside to try and sabotage the wedding.  The backdrop is stunning (the characters will point this out every five minutes in case you hadn't noticed) and gives the movie a luxurious feel, although I suspect the representation of Balinese culture and traditions are somewhat inaccurate. The leads are as good as you would expect, Roberts is as charming as...

 The Banshees of Inasherin stakes a claim to being Martin McDonagh's best film, and that is saying something. The Island of Inashirin is a picturesque, sleepy community off the coast of Ireland whose inhabitants are scarcely concerned with the civil war engulfing the mainland. Much bigger news is the fact that local fiddle player Colm (Brendan Gleeson) has decided to stop talking to best friend Padraic (Colin Farell). What follows begins as a hilarious Father Ted esqe story of a smart (in his own mind anyway) mans exasperation with his dim witted companion and decends into a melancholy story of stubbornness, mental illness and a man left behind, although the laugh out loud humour remains throughout. You will sympathise and be infuriated with both men but mostly you will just be enthralled by their unfolding story.  Pretty much everything in the film is outstanding. The Irish landscape looks stunning, the score is miraculous, the script is meticulous and the cast are perfect. G...

  Netflix original Mr Harrigan's Phone is a somewhat different film to the one shown in the trailers. While the advertising leant into the notion of a spookfest about a vengeful mentor returned from the grave the actual film is more of an exploration of the grieving process with a heavy dose of "smartphones bad kids". This wouldn't necessarily be a problem but there is a lack of direction in the plot and the passage of time is unclear leading to boredom rather than suspense. The straight out of a kids TV movie idea of having a schools entire social structure based around which phone you own severely undercuts the movies sombre tone and any message the film is trying to impart falls flat Like Mr Harrigan's Phone, 2019 's The Lodge also features IT alumni Jaeden Martell. This time he is one half of a brother and sister duo who are hit with the double whammy of their mum committing suicide and there dad planning to remarry a mysterious cult survivor. The film is...