All posts tagged Film

The Best Films of 2018

Always late to the party, Luke Miksa runs down his favourite movies released in 2018.

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I know I always upload these things way too late to be relevant, but this time I have an actual medical situation, so I’ll excuse myself for being a number of months behind schedule (this time).

As always, due to the unexpected complexities of life, I have not seen as many movies released last year as I would have liked. Sorry Roma and A Star is Born.

Missed the cut:

Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Incredibles 2, Upgrade, Overlord, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Searching, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Aquaman

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10. Game Night

Coming up first is a surprising choice in the unexpected quality of Game Night. With what appears on the surface to be a fairly run-of-the-mill feature comedy, is refreshingly full of some quite inventive laughs, and a plot that borderlines on caper.

The filmmaking team of John Francis Daly and Jonathan Goldstein have become a reputable brand in entertaining comedies (with recent successes including Vacation, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and the Horrible Bosses films), and you can add Game Night into the same basket. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams star, and while Bateman is in his element, the MVP is McAdams; for while she is not particularly known for her comic roles, she is the standout in an already hilarious cast.

Featuring on of this year’s best on-going gags involving Denzel Washington, Game Night is the best pure comedy film of 2018.

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by Luke Miksa on April 1, 2019  •  Permalink
Posted in Film Reviews, Lists, Movie Talk
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Posted by Luke Miksa on April 1, 2019

https://sorryimlate.com/2019/04/01/the-best-films-of-2018/

Review: Rampage (2018) — Fun and Frustrating, but Mostly Fun (But Also Frustrating)

Video game movies suck! Is the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson destruction-fest Rampage better than the rest? Luke Miksa tells all:

Based on the classic arcade video game of the same name, Rampage opens with the destruction of a space station, which leads to scattered debris all over the United States. Amongst the wreckage is a mutated pathogen, which comes into contact with a wolf, a crocodile, and an albino gorilla under the care of Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson). As the pathogen mutates these animals into gigantic and violent beasts, Okoye is aided by geneticist Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris) and Agent Harvey Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in an effort to stop them before they turn Chicago to rubble.

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Kinda like Jaws, but with a dinosaur.

Director Brad Peyton and star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have become quite a successful duo in recent years, releasing crowd-pleasing action fare such as San Andreas and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. While not aiming for high-cinema, these films are the perfect kind of entertaining dumb fun which will always certainly have its place, especially when international markets are concerned. Peyton is quickly becoming this generation’s Roland Emmerich, much like Johnson is this generation’s Arnold Schwarzenegger.

At heart, Rampage is an old-school monster mash, full of action and quips. But despite the relatively family-friendly M-rating, Rampage is actually kind of violent. It’s not Predator by any means, but there is a certain scene involving Joe Mangianello and his mercenaries going up against the wolf (dubbed Ralph) that is pretty intense. There’s also plenty of collateral damage to the city of Chicago once the beasts convene there, and these scenes do show plenty of civilian deaths.

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by Luke Miksa on April 17, 2018  •  Permalink
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Posted by Luke Miksa on April 17, 2018

https://sorryimlate.com/2018/04/17/review-rampage-2018-fun-and-frustrating-but-mostly-fun-but-also-frustrating/

The Best Films of 2017

Fashionably late! Luke Miksa presents his top ten movies of 2017.
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Reliably late as always (Sorry I’m Late is the name), it’s that time of the year to once again compile the best movies released in 2017.

I don’t want to spend much time on caveats, but it should go without saying that I clearly didn’t have a chance to see everything, but holy heck I tried my darndest!

It’s also worth mentioning the odd release schedules for Australian cinemas. Down under, we often get the big blockbusters the same time as the US market (sometimes even a day or two earlier due to weird time zone stuff), but the smaller releases are all over the place. For example, La La Land was technically a 2016 release in the US, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t hit our shores until 2017 (and I delayed viewing it until February 2018, and I don’t kid you when I say that if I had seen it in either 2016 or 2017 that it may have topped either list. I love La La Land so much).

But anyway, this is my house and these are my rules. Let’s begin.

Missed the Cut:

Hidden Figures, Kong: Skull Island, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Lego Batman Movie, Dunkirk, Okja, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton

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10. John Wick: Chapter 2

John Wick has a special place in my heart (it did make my list of 2014, after all), so word of a sequel had me plenty excited. More badass Keanu Reeves! More headshots! More close-quarter skirmishes! This is a burgeoning franchise I can totally get behind.

Little did I know of the immense universe building to happen in John Wick: Chapter 2. Not content with simply providing a unique, adrenaline filled world of gun-play and martial arts, returning director and former stuntman Chad Stahelski builds upon a community of secret assassins with a distinct moral code. Combine the returning cast with a strong ensemble of new players, and John Wick: Chapter 2 is about as much fun as you can have with an action movie.

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9. Baby Driver

Edgar Wright is one of the best filmmakers in the world. His Cornetto Trilogy starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are iconic, and Scott Pilgrim vs the World is totally underrated and a personal favourite.

Baby Driver is a kinetic caper, starring Ansel Elgort as Baby, a supremely skilled driver under the payroll of crime kingpin Doc (creepo Kevin Spacey), who uses his talents behind the wheel to ferry a rotating crew of robbers (including Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm). Baby suffers from tinnitus, thus is always listening to music through an iPod. And here lies the genius of Wright, as Baby’s playlists are the soundtrack of the film, and the film’s stunt-driving and action scenes are all set in time to the music. It’s a musical with stunts instead of dancing! Baby Driver is so much fun and adds another winner to Edgar Wright’s impressive resume.

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by Luke Miksa on February 6, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in Film Reviews, Lists, Movie Talk
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Posted by Luke Miksa on February 6, 2018

https://sorryimlate.com/2018/02/06/the-best-films-of-2017/

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