Hello readers,
I know that this is my first post in over a month but due to going back to university, I haven’t been to the cinema that much. A couple of weeks ago, I did however see the highly anticipated anti-hero film Venom and the third instalment of the Johnny English films. I remember seeing the second one in the cinema when I was 12 so I thought it would only be right to see this one in the cinema too.
Venom
This new anti-hero film has changed the game for the superhero genre. Eddie Brock a journalist whose life goes downhill after investigating a laboratory trying to harness the power of symbiotes. He accidentally joins with an alien called Venom and gains immense skills and strength.
Set in San Francisco made a refreshing change from the Avengers setting of New York. The humanisation of Venom talking through Eddie adds a comedy element to the film. Tom Hardy plays the ‘bad boy’ character very well as was evident in Legend (2015) but his resistance to Venom killing and hurting people shows that Eddie does have heart. He also tries working with Venom instead of rejecting him completely.
Many critics wrote off the film but as a fan of Marvel and comic book films, I really enjoyed it. It had the right amount of action, comedy, special effects, rebellion against evil corporations and romance. As the superhero genre had really taken off in the past few years, perhaps critics are getting annoyed at reviewing films that won’t win any high profile awards.
I liked the romance between Eddie and Anne, it added a softness to a pretty intense film. When she leaves Eddie, it truly breaks his heart and is motive for his revenge on Carlton Drake’s empire.
Overall I think this film is great for any Tom Hardy or superhero movie fans but not one to watch if you like something clever. 4/5.
Cast:
Tom Hardy (Inception) as Eddie Brock / Venom
Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) as Anne Weying
Riz Ahmed (Rogue One) as Carlton Drake / Riot
Scott Haze (Child of God) as Security Chief Roland Treece
Jenny Slate (Zootropolis) as Dr. Dora Skirth
Peggy Lu (Awkward) as Mrs Chen
Johnny English Strikes Again
The third instalment of the Johnny English trilogy picks up years later when Johnny has retired from the world of espionage to become a geography teacher. He however has not taught his students much geography. The film starts with Mr English teaching all his young students how to be a spy.
When all the identities of all the MI7 agents are revealed to the public, the Prime Minister reluctantly recruits English to investigate. Reunited with his sidekick Bough, English travels to the South of France to find the source of the hackers.
Meanwhile, tech genius Jason is proposing an update for the British Government’s systems but is actually the bad guy and is trying to disable the country’s internet.
Johnny English of course would not be complete without laugh out loud gags and scenarios. Some of the best ones in this film include English setting a French restaurant on fire attempting to cook prawns, dancing for a whole night non stop, using virtual reality and accidentally throwing someone off an open top bus and wearing a full knight’s armour.
Rowan Atkinson is hilarious as always and the addition of Emma Thompson as the Prime Minister means their scenes together are comedy gold.
Overall a great family film with a laugh a minute. Comedy films don’t really include much slapstick and visual gags anymore so a reminder of the old days is welcome with Johnny English.
Cast:
Rowan Atkinson (Bean) as Johnny English
Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) as Ophelia
Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility) as Prime Minister
Jake Lacy (Carol) as Jason
Ben Miller (Paddington 2) as Bough
Adam James (Doctor Foster) as Pegasus
Other films I have enjoyed recently are American Animals (2018) starring Evan Peters, Heathers (1989) starring Winona Ryder, The Social Network (2010) starring Jesse Eisenberg and BlacKkKlansman (2018) starring John David Washington.
Happy Watching
Robyn 🙂