Review Roundup - You Better Watch Out

KRAMPUS (2015)

There aren't that many films which combine Christmas with other elements and still have it as a central theme, since one main idea usually takes centre stage. It's usually a Christmas Carol first or  A holiday film about insane killers, and that's fine with me. It's true we can all watch Gremlins repeatedly on an annual basis, that's just the way things go. It's about not taking responsibility for your gifts I guess... but as a mixture of festive themes and puppets the monster elements have always been the focus. It was originally a summer release after all. Michael Dougherty's Krampus (not to be confused with the countless low effort releases to feature the same Yuletide figure) on the other hand balances this all perfectly, it's full of creatures but it's still all about the holidays.

Review Roundup - Laser Moon Awakens

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016)

I had a lot of ... well let's call it anxiety about this one. After all, the debut of the first Star Wars anthology story marks a major transition for the franchise. The long gestation period of past movies (once 3 years between episodes not counting the major hiatus or spin-offs) has now officially been reduced so that a boardroom friendly annual release can be deployed. Playing it safe while using fan service nostalgia has become an obvious tactic. Why take risks when you can foster positive casual audience reception, while also keeping long term followers sated with things they know and love? But this level of jaded cynicism isn't entirely justified. Well maybe some of it. But there's still plenty of room for the basic ingredients that add up to a good time in front of the silver screen. But just how many of those are included this time around? And how much of this story really needed telling in the first place?

Review Roundup - Replication Errors

X-MEN APOCALYPSE (2016)

The original X-men series has its detractors, but I always found the original two to have plenty of likeable elements despite the changes to the source material. Part three on the other hand ... falls short of the mark. A lot of time people cite Bryan Singer's departure as a reason for this, unfortunately the same excuse cannot be used to explain this latest outing. As a third entry to a pretty loose prequel trilogy, it delivers well below what should have been expected. But why should it not be a winner after the last two? Building on what worked should have been an easy task. However for reasons that are just not clear this really isn't up to scratch, so let's explore what we are left with.

Review Roundup - Odd Couple

THE NICE GUYS (2016)

It's been a distressingly long time since Shane Black's last crime thriller, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. In the meantime we had a mixture of his usual material under all the blockbuster spectacle of Iron Man 3, but this is more in line with what I'd be expecting; a detective plot full of silly lines and idiosyncratic characters. I suppose the problem is that back in 2005 the formula didn't bring in enough of a return at the box office, and unfortunately the same is true here. Call it what you will, bad luck, poorly planned release dates, or lack of audience buzz. Maybe in another decade we'll get a third one of these types of stories. Such a wait is not a prospect that I welcome, since this one of 2016's best releases.

Scorecard

NOVEMBER

FILM OF THE MONTH Police Story ☆☆☆☆
Baraka ☆☆☆☆
Blackfish ☆☆☆☆
Crippled Avengers ☆☆☆☆
Nosferatu the Vampyre ☆☆☆☆
Predator ☆☆☆☆
Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny ☆☆☆☆
The Five Venoms ☆☆☆☆
Into the Inferno ☆☆☆☆
Five Elements Ninjas ☆☆☆☆
Gremlins ☆☆☆☆
Die Hard ☆☆☆☆
The Thing ☆☆☆☆