Dan Says its Alright

  2018 's Into the Spider-Verse was a break out smash that breathed new life into both the superhero and animation genres. Across the Spider-Verse cranks up the stylistics and expands the scope for a grander, if not necessarily always better, web slinging journey. The story sees Hailee Steinfeld's returning Spider-Gwen recruited to a cross universe group of spider people dedicated to keeping the multiverse safe. She then goes against the wishes of head honcho Miguel O'Hara, a.k.a  Spider-Man 2099 , to contact old friend Miles Morales which sets off a chain of potentially multiverse threatening events. Like it's predecessor, Across the Spider-Verse is a film with great heart. It's a story about family relationships, what it means to to be Spider-Man and the different responsibilies and characters that can entail. Stand outs amongst the new Spider-Man are Spider-Man India (Karan Soni) and Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya). Villain, The Spot, starts as a fun side characte...

 Despite suffering from some well established franchise problems Fast X puts it's pedal to the metal to become one of the saga's best entries. No mean feat for a series 10 films and over 20 years in. The set pieces are a tiny bit more grounded than F9 but still ridiculous and a lot more fun. Various members of the crew play live action Rocket League in Rome, drop out of a plane in a "canoe" and engage in a final chase that is much more satisfying than the turn magnet on and off showdown of the previous film. The film also benifits from an increase in star power and better use of its characters. John Cena returns but he plays the character of Jacob Toretto completely differently and is great fun as he embarks on a road trip with his nephew. Jason Statham is back as Decard Shaw, albeit only as a cameo with the promise of more to come. The film really belongs to franchise newcomer Jason Mamoa as Dante Reyes, son of Fast 5 villain Hernan. Leaving his imposing frame to por...

 Three movies into his career and it's clear that Ari Aster is a filmaking mad genius. Quite how much is genius and how much is madness is up for debate. Beau is Afraid, a three hour long, deliberately obtuse endurance test doesn't help answer that question. Main character Beau certainly flirts with madness. In therapy and suffering from some major mummy issues an impending trip to see said mother is the last thing his fragile psyche needs.  After a disappearing suitcase and passport lead to him missing his plane the journey becomes an odyssey, reflecting the stages of life and all tinged with Beau's maternal issues.  We see everything from Beau's point of view, bringing into question how much of the crazy world is real and how much is the interpretation of mind that is always afraid. Maybe the world outside his apartment really is a semi apocalyptic nightmare or maybe he just feels that way. Perhaps his mother has influence over everyone he meets or perhaps she doesn...

 Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, and to some extent the whole trilogy, shows what a Marvel movie can be when it's allowed to be it's own thing and not beholden to furthering other projects. It has its flaws but  the focus on character and satisfying resolutions make this one of the MCU's best efforts in years. In fact, one of its best ever. The film begins with an attack on The Guardians by Adam Warlock, teased at the end of volume 2 and played brilliantly by Will Poulter as a gold dusted himbo, leading to Rocket being critically injured. This leaves the rest of the team in a race against time to track down a cure and brings them into conflict with the racoon's creator, The High Evolutionary. They say that if you want the audience to hate a character just show the character kicking a puppy. By that metric The High Evolutionary will go down as one of the most despised villians in cinematic history. He's a full on animal abuser who's frustrations with life's...

  There has always been an air of mystery around the Dracula novel as a result of Bram Stoker swearing parts of the story are real. The mystery with this modern take on the vampires assistant is how a film with Nick Cage dialing it up to 11 as a megalomaniac undead lord and a bunch of blood soaked over the top action can be anything but a complete slam dunk. Which Renfield is not. While some of it misses the mark there is plenty to enjoy over the hour and a half you spend with Nicholas Hoults's increasingly rebellious lackey. The film begins with a beautiful recreation of Renfield's first encounter with Dracula in the classic 1931 Universal monster flick and gives a quick summary of their relationship since, Renfield being the dutiful stooge that brings Drac his victims and even passes up the chance at freedom to bail his master out when he's trapped by vampire hunters. Cut to present day where a downbeaten Renfield and depleted Dracula set up shop in New Orleans. The mov...

 By mixing modern characters with over the top violence that maintains a wicked sense of slapstick, Evil Dead Rise is a blood drenched example of how good an update to a classic franchise can be. The setting has changed and preceedings centre around a pair of semi estranged sisters and some kids but most other things remain. The feeling of isolation and growing terror is still there, playing a sinister recording you find hidden away is still a terrible idea and a boomstick and chainsaw are still a survivor's best friend. The change of setting proves no problem as it turns out all you need to recreate the isolation of a log cabin is a high rise apartment with a broken lift and some collapsed stairs. A family home also opens up opportunities for all sorts of home applience nastiness and director Lee Cronin doesn't hold back when it comes to gruesome violence, although those traumatised by the trailer will be relieved to know he stops short of that needle puncturing an eyeball. ...

The minute an Illumination Super Mario movie was announced you knew what was on the cards and this is is exactly that, a mostly by the numbers crowd pleaser with a focus on easy laughs and merchandising opportunities. The good news is it's about as good a version of that as we were ever going to get. The story begins with Mario and Luigi (Mario Mario and Luigi Mario to give them there full names) trying to boost their fledgling plumbing business by helping out with a massive flood in downtown Brooklyn. This leads to them being sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom, via a green pipe naturally. The film is full of trappings from the game, with power ups, karts and a Princess obsessed Bowser as the antagonist. It does flip things round with Luigi being the damsel (da man sel?) in distress while Peach is fearless leader, probably a necessary change for 2023 . Other Mario staples like Toad and Shy Guys make an appearance and there is a trip to visit "The King of the Kongs" (Ninten...