Yesterday - Movie Review - Does it do the beloved band justice?

This film is a 12A, was released on June 28th 2019, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS 

Yesterday is the story of a guy named Jack. He finds himself in a position in which he's struggling to get his music heard and isn't given enough respect for it. One night, all the power in the world goes out for 12 seconds and Jack is hit by a bus. He wakes up in the same world except he is the only person that can remember the legendary band, The Beatles. Because of this, Jack takes many of their beloved songs and passes them off as his own. This instantly raises his profile and he soon takes off. I liked the look of this film from the trailers, so I was keen to see it as I was sure it'd be a decent few hours at the cinema. 

Overall, this was a jolly good time. It doesn't take a genius to notice that Yesterday has an absolutely brilliant premise, and it addresses every aspect of it, resulting in it being really funny. There are numerous jokes in which Jack searches The Beatles and related things such as Sergeant Pepper on the internet only to be met with ridiculous results. However, its not just The Beatles that the world has forgotten, as there are various other things regarded as common knowledge that only Jack can remember, and I won't tell you what they are as they were funny reveals. But the film generally has a really pleasant, feel-good tone to it and it does often raise a smile and a chuckle, which is more than enough of what I want from a film of this type. The film also pays huge amounts of respect to the band at the centre of it. I'm not huge on The Beatles, but it's easy for anyone to recognise their music and little nods and references to their history and discography. It's only when you see a film like this that you can fully appreciate the legacy of a band like this, even though it isn't about them, it is about their music they've produced. Performances were also top notch, Himesh Patel as Jack was really good, he was very charming as the lead. Lily James continues to show that she is a very talented actress, as she gives off another very strong performance. Even the supporting cast did a great job too. 

In terms of negatives, there aren't many. The biggest issue I have and I think others may have is that the film is a bit formulaic. It follows the generic rock star storyline in which the protagonist begins as kind of a pathetic loser who believes there is nothing in his life of value, he gets to fame due to some kind of cheat, he's showered with riches and praise, but he then turns his back on the people in his life before, only to realise that he already had all he could ever need before he became famous. Pretty standard for a movie like this. It works fine and even appropriately here, but I do wish it did something to spice it up. The movie also repeats some of its best jokes to the point where they aren't as funny, and the pacing is somewhat off as Jack's rise to fame seems a bit too rapid, even if that was intentional. 

As a whole, Yesterday was terrific. It wasn't the most original or memorable film I've ever seen, but it's really entertaining, pays the right amount of respect to The Beatles, has some really solid performances, and is overall very cheerful. Definitely see this one if you're a Beatles fan, or if you just like a bit of clever and straight forward entertainment like I do. 

I'm going to give Yesterday an 8/10

Toy Story 4 - Movie Review - Did we really need it?

This film is a U, was released on June 21st 2019, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS 

Introduction 

I, like many people, love the first three Toy Story films. They all have really endearing characters, some great animation, heartfelt and emotional moments, interesting themes, and entertaining sequences. But, best of all, I thought it was a trilogy that ended so fittingly and in a way that was satisfying. So, imagine how I felt when Toy Story 4 was announced. Why another Toy Story film? I don't understand why Pixar has pushed for so many sequels recently. None of their films scream franchises to me, aside from maybe The Incredibles. But, they managed to make not one but two absolutely fabulous sequels to their first ever film, so maybe there was enough momentum left for another one, even if the story seemed to be finished.

Thoughts Going In 

As good as the reviews and buzz were for this film, I stood by my opinion that we didn't need a Toy Story 4. I watched Toy Story 3 just beforehand and that film is just terrific. What you notice about the Toy Story films is that they have progressively got better, and there was no way this could outdo that. But, who knows? Pixar might be able to smash it one more time with these characters, so I went in as open-minded as possible, but still with the belief that what I was about to watch was redundant. 

The Story 

On her first day of Kindergarten, Bonnie makes a new friend named "Forky", constructed out of various bits and pieces such as a spork and a pipe cleaner. Woody sees that this toy cheered her up on her first day, and he believes that everyone should protect Forky to keep her that way. However, Forky thinks he is trash, so after jumping out of a vehicle on a road trip and forcing Woody to come after him, they must get back to Bonnie along with the help of some new and some familiar faces. 

What I Liked 

To begin, I'd just like to say that this was definitely a positive experience. I have some issues but I'd like to make it clear that as a whole, the good outweighs the bad.

Once again, Pixar proves that they are the masters of computer animation. In this film, the textures on the toys are so real, the environments look so life-like, and smaller details help to make this a beautiful visual experience. When you look back on the first Toy Story, the animation doesn't hold up particularly well, so it is wonderful to see how it has progressed to the point where you begin to appreciate things like fluff, scratches, reflections, or other very minor details. The way certain characters move also made the animation seem more realistic, for example, Forky moves very stiffly as if he was an actual piece of cutlery, and a doll named Gabby Gabby has very gentle and restrained movements as if she was a real doll. I feel like mentioning animation on a Pixar film is redundant nowadays as they always do a great job. 

The characters are also great, especially as Toy Story is a very character-driven series. There are plenty of fun, new characters. The most notable of which was Forky, who was fun to watch because of his naivety and also how he moved by mostly wobbling around. There was also Duke Caboom, a Canadian daredevil toy who had a tragic past of not being as good as how he was portrayed in his commercial, and thus being abandoned. He was very entertaining at many points and the voice of Keanu Reeves was a big part of this. Lastly, there were Ducky and Bunny, two plush toys who are meant to be won at a carnival, both of whom were goofy and really funny, constantly having the bizarre urge to attack humans. The veterans were also terrific, Woody is such a likeable and good-hearted character, and he always seems noble towards his child, regardless of who it is. Buzz was also good and his character had a new belief of following what is said when he pushes his buttons which lead to some great jokes. 

The emotions were also very strong. There were some very sad scenes in this film. Not the emotional climax, but there is a moment that occurs quite far into the film which involves a lost child. I won't explain it but that scene brought me close to tears. So, remember your tissues if you do go to see this! 

What I Didn't Like 

OK, I have some major issues with this movie that hold it back greatly. The first of which is the one that I partially expected, this film doesn't add anything to the franchise. There isn't anything that happens which makes you look back on the previous films in a different way, and there isn't anything that makes you say "wow now I understand why they made this movie" or "wow that all makes sense now" or anything along the lines of that, it all just feels like an extension of what we all loved without any meaningful additions. Overall, the whole thing just felt very hollow, almost like a feature length version of those Toy Story shorts. But, the one thing that did feel like something was the ending, which brings me to my next issue. 

I loved the ending of Toy Story 3 as I think it was the most appropriate send off for all these characters, not just for Woody even though he was at the centre of it. Here, it's all about Woody, and is only a goodbye for him, which makes the ending of the franchise only revolve around him. Which, don't get me wrong, I love Woody as a character and I understand he is the protagonist, but I'd much rather the ending where each of the characters have a moment to shine and then Woody gets his big moment, which is exactly what Toy Story 3 gave us. Also, the ending only fits the confines of a world in which toys do come to life. Whether or not our toys do come to life in the real world, the ending of 3 works no matter what because the idea of your toys always being there for a child to make them happy doesn't rely on them being able to come to life, so we can apply it to our own toys regardless of whether they can come to life or not. Here, you can't. The message it gives off only works in the world of Toy Story so it loses the magic of the originals where everything they went through such as being replaced or having their child grow up could be reflected in your own toys. So, this film didn't add anything meaningful to Toy Story as a franchise and now this great series has ended on much less satisfying note despite the fact that there was already a perfect one to call it a day on. This film's existence is also extra annoying because it robs Toy Story 3's powerful ending.

I also have an issue with Bo Peep. I suppose it does make narrative sense to reintroduce her into the mix as she was integral to Woody, and the opening sequence in which they show how she was given away was very well done. However, they forgot something kind of major, that being that she didn't really have much of a character. I didn't really care for her much in the films she was in before as she didn't do much and all she did was serve as someone who was kind to Woody, not much else. So, I struggled to bring myself to care about where she was coming from even if the film did its best efforts to make you care. She also came off as unlikeable. Sure, she would get annoyed by Woody at certain points as he acts very desperate throughout a lot of the film but I felt she was very bitter at times. So, I don't think bringing Bo back was necessarily a good choice, even if it makes sense in the context of the story.

The film also feels a bit too silly compared to the other films. The toys come to life far too much in the presence of humans and their movements go down unnoticed so frequently that it made the human characters less believable and more stupid. For example, at one point, Buzz is on a prize rack and Ducky and Bunny start to kick him along with yelling. How could nobody see that? It's been established that it is the middle of the day and there are people at the fair so, how? There's another moment when Duke Caboom makes a big jump across the fair, how did nobody see him? Sure, it was entertaining, but it still raises the question. There are also some ridiculous moments where the toys do things that make this world seem, once again, less believable. At one point, they hack a GPS and start driving a vehicle to get somewhere, with said place being somewhere that vehicles can't drive up to, and that just crossed the line for me. Sure, there were moments like this in the originals, such as Woody and Buzz landing in the van after flying in the first Toy Story, or the gang driving the Pizza Planet truck in Toy Story 2. But, they worked because the instances of them were well executed. Woody and Buzz flying at the end of the first film is one of my favourite scenes in cinema, and the Pizza Planet truck chase in Toy Story 2 was really fun to watch when seeing all the toys playing different parts to make the truck drive, and the fact that they were just driving on a road, a place where you usually see vehicles. But here, it is so excessive and unfunny that it was just unacceptable and it took me out of the film.

Conclusion 

Did we really need more? Toy Story 4 was by no means bad or even average as an experience. The animation was superb, the characters were mostly great both old and new, and there were some really powerful and heartfelt moments. However, the whole thing just felt superfluous. I didn't walk out of it with a new perspective on the Toy Story world. The only thing it really added was a less satisfying ending to a series that already had the most satisfying ending it could've had. Throw in some ridiculously gimmicky moments and it really weighed this film down. This is a definitive case of some things being best left as they are. That said, I don't dislike or resent this movie at all, and I won't let its flaws ruin the masterful work that went into the previous entries. It is the weakest Toy Story film by a significant margin, but it is certainly better than other Pixar sequels such as Cars 2 or Finding Dory. However, Toy Story deserves so much better as it is a franchise that both means a lot to me and has made a huge impact on cinema. So, if they were going to go through with following up their perfectly rounded-off trilogy, they needed to do more than what they did.

I'm going to give Toy Story 4 a 6/10 

Also... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T MAKE A TOY STORY 5, PIXAR.

All 20 Pixar Movies Ranked

With a certain 4th entry into a franchise out now, I thought it'd be fun to rank all the films made by my favourite animation studio, Pixar. While I do love a good Aardman or even Dreamworks film, Pixar have been the long reigning champions of computer animation ever since they introduced the medium to cinema in the 90s. I have seen every single film they've put out and have varying opinions on a lot of them, but as they've got a nice even number of films as of right now, I'm going to give them a rank. 

Just like Marvel, the worst that Pixar gets from me is a 5/10. I can't bring myself to hate or even dislike any of their films, even the weaker ones. I also need to make it clear that my opinion on films are constantly changing. Looking back at my MCU ranking today, I already disagree with it. So keep in mind that this is a rough ranking and not set in stone. I'm also not going to mention animation unless it's absolutely necessary because it goes without saying that Pixar's animation is astonishing. That said, let's get ranking!

I also feel like I should address that a lot of my mini-reviews here are going to feel repetitive because many of these films share good aspects, so excuse me if my vocabulary doesn't seem varied enough. Also, this is a difficult list because I adore so many of these films and it's hard to say which ones are better, I even feel bad putting some so low on the list. This only really applies from numbers 11-1, those are the ones I love the most.

20. Brave (2012)

Brave is the lowest on my list for two main reasons. One, the film is extremely forgettable and conventional based on what I can remember, making it an unenjoyable experience. Two, it doesn't feel like a Pixar film. Pixar are so unique and original that them putting their spin on a common narrative felt very uninteresting. I'm being vague because I honestly have trouble remembering this movie, it feels like a lower tier Disney movie from the 2000s if anything. It also beat Wreck-it Ralph for the best animated feature Oscar, which intensifies my distaste.
Rating: 5/10 

19. Cars 2 (2011) 

A worse film than Brave from a story standpoint but the reason why this is higher is because when I watch this film, I'm not bored. It's ridiculous and makes no sense and damages the reputation of the original Cars movie, but at least it's not dull and it does have a personality. It's fun to watch simply because it's so more exciting and memorable, even if the everything else is really weak. I'd still like to imagine this movie doesn't exist and you'll see why later. 
Rating: 6/10 

18. The Good Dinosaur (2015) 

A film that I've liked less and less since its release. This is mostly because I haven't felt the urge to revisit it at all. I liked it a lot when I first saw it and actually felt a desperate need to defend it, but gradually I forgot more and more about it to the point where I still acknowledge its existence but don't really think about what it adds to anything. The animation is especially groundbreaking and the story is generally sweet and heartfelt, but aside from that, there's not an awful lot to grasp onto here. An unfortunate misfire considering that dinosaurs are the best, but not bad by any means.
Rating: 7/10

17. Finding Dory (2016) 

Another film I've liked less and less which is a shame. You'll see my opinion on Finding Nemo later (and where it is ranked should show you why this is so low), but I really liked this film at first because it was exciting to see a follow up to a film I absolutely loved. That and it has a much appreciated heartfelt story too. However, when you realise just how inessential this film is, then you like it slightly less. That happened to me for sure and I just started to enjoy it less. It's not a terrible film, but it's low on the list because it didn't have much of a reason to exist in the first place. 
Rating: 7/10

16. Monsters University (2013) 

Thankfully, we have a movie that has grown on me since I first saw it. I wasn't too keen on this when I first saw it because I mostly didn't like the segment in the human world as it became a bit too serious and grim for my taste, lacking the charm of the first film. However, that scene isn't a problem to me anymore as I think it was severe case of the negativity bias. I like a lot about the rest of the film; the overall ride it offers has some fun moments, some really hilarious characters, and it's a nice enough way to see how Mike and Sulley became the duo we all know and love.
Rating: 8/10 

15. Coco (2018) 

Coco is undeniably a great movie. It has a wonderfully emotional story, some delightful songs, really well-handled themes of memory / death, and it is always fun to watch, even though I've only seen it twice. What bothers me about this one is that, like Brave, it doesn't feel like a Pixar movie. Once again, there isn't much originality here. We've seen this type of story before and even though it hasn't been told with this particular aesthetic, it seems familiar due to the 2014 film, The Book of Life. So, this is a great movie, but just one that doesn't scream Pixar to me, and that's why it's so low.
Rating: 8/10 

14. The Incredibles (2004) 

Uh oh, you may not agree with this. Ah well, this is my list so deal with it. I've always liked The Incredibles, and it is a fantastic movie in many ways. The action is exciting and entertaining, the characters and their powers are a lot of fun, and it has some mature themes which are very subtly implemented. So, it is great, but there are just a lot of other movies that I think are better. To be honest, I haven't seen this movie in many years, and subsequently I have become a huge fan of superhero movies, so revisiting it may raise it on my list, but from what I remember, all of the ones I'm about to cover are superior to me. 
Rating: 8/10 

13. Incredibles 2 (2018) 

JUST TO CLARIFY, I am uncertain as to whether or not this beats the original. But I'm fairly certain it does. I like the idea of The Incredibles being a satirical and goofy take on superhero movies, and this movie delivers that aspect much better than the original. The first movie was quite serious with occasional fun moments, but here, it's so much funnier and the super-baby, Jack-Jack, had a much larger role which gave the film lots more to love. This also means that both sides of the story are equally as entertaining, unlike the first where the only fun parts were all the full on superhero moments. I really enjoyed this movie and despite the animation being a little too good, it's a fabulous watch. I've written a full review if you'd like to hear more. 
Rating: 8/10 

12. A Bug's Life (1998) 

The least talked about of Pixar's Golden Age movies, and deservedly so. Looking back, it doesn't have an awful lot that is boundary pushing or memorable about it, but it's a colourful and fun watch for the most part. Some good characters and great use of size, so overall a satisfying enough flick. There's really no more to say than that, but sometimes a nice straight forward story works better than a complex one in my opinion.
Rating: 8/10 

11. Toy Story (1995) 

This may seem a little bit too low considering we wouldn't have had the 10 films coming up if this one didn't exist, but I think it fits snugly here. Toy Story is a really enjoyable, creative and fun film. It still holds up today as a great kids movie and one of the best animated films ever made. The characters and voice work are top notch, and the story has a lot of depth to it, and the scene where Buzz flies is one of my favourite scenes in all of cinema. It feels so wrong having it so low on the list, it's just there are so many films that are better to me, even if this was the one that paved the way for all of them.
Rating: 8/10 

10. Monsters, Inc. (2001) 

Really entertaining. Mike and Sulley are one of Pixar's best duos and their chemistry is so well realised and it makes the movie so good. That and the little girl, Boo, is absolutely adorable! This film is also a prime example of Pixar being original as the world established here is something so bizarre in the best way possible. It's still a great movie today and one I always like to revisit, even if a lot of its peers are considered better by me. 
Rating: 8/10

9. Cars 3 (2017) 

I really love this movie. This is what I wished Cars 2 was going to be like. Out of all Pixar sequels, aside from the Toy Story ones, this one justifies its existence best. The narrative feels naturally progressed as Lightning follows in the footsteps (or tyre-tracks) of his mentor, Doc, and is passing the torch to his younger companion, Cruz. Top this off with a great message about growing and moving on and some really exciting and entertaining racing scenes, which go from race tracks to a demolition derby to out in the country, Cars 3 redeems the Cars series and I am happy it exists so that Cars is no longer frowned upon deeply by most Pixar fans.
Rating: 8/10 

8. Inside Out (2015) 

Oddly enough, this was probably the Pixar film I had the most hype for. Prior to this being released, we had a whole year of no Pixar! I mean, we still got The Lego Movie that year, but that isn't the point. I was so worried we'd never see another Pixar film for ages. Then, this film was released. And my worries were all pushed aside. Inside Out is a return to form if I've ever seen one. Such a wonderful story that utilises every aspect of the premise, such a creative setting, such brilliant characters, such a lovely score, such phenomenally realised emotions. This is just a masterful film. The only issues are that it has a few plot holes and to me still doesn't feel entirely like Pixar, but it is something truly special.
Rating: 9/10 

7. Wall-E (2008) 

I've loved Wall-E for so long. Being such a memorable character as well as a very wondrous film. Now, I like it ever so slightly less than I used to, but that doesn't mean it's a worse movie at all. This is definitive proof that "show don't tell" can be efficient in cinema, especially animation. It's also amazing how the animation crew managed to get such easily observable emotion out of a robot who isn't that expressive. Wall-E only has two gigantic, binocular eyes, and yet you can easily detect how he feels from any frame of the film. That is the work of pure wonder, and in and of itself makes this a terrific film. The message is also really powerful, the score is really pleasant, and the love story between Wall-E and Eve is so sweet. I just love it. Also, like Toy Story, Wall-E houses one of my favourite scenes in cinema. I'm sure you know the one, but if you don't, it's define dancing.
Rating: 9/10 

6. Toy Story 2 (1999) 

What a brilliant sequel! Toy Story 2 succeeds in all the ways any sequel should. Introduce new themes, expand on original themes, expand the world, deepen the characters, and deliver more of the humour and charm from the original. This film masterfully fills that criteria, and it adds up to a film that outdoes the original by quite a margin.
Rating: 9/10 

5. Ratatouille (2007) 

Ratatouille is another film I've grown to love as I've got older. Originally, this was quite low on my list. However, as an older person, you come to appreciate just how clever this film is. It has such a wonderfully bonkers premise, but the execution is fabulous in every way. It's very much a film that children can enjoy by the sight of things such as a pancake being flung out of a window, but you only come to appreciate all the nuances of the writing and the story itself as you grow up. Ratatouille also has the most clever title of any Pixar film, just everything about it is really smart. It is so entertaining and I never realised just how much I loved it and love to rewatch it. 
Rating: 9/10 

4. Up (2009) 

Oh, I'm getting teary eyes just thinking about this. Up is another beautiful film in Pixar's library. The emotions feel so real in this film, the opening ten minutes are so powerful yet there isn't a single word of dialogue, it's all told through the excellent score and the magic that is silent cinema. Also, once the main plot gets going, there are tons of great jokes and the adventure is really exciting. That and Up has the most vague title of any film ever and the film is, once again, absolutely unique. This is really a brilliant film, for many reasons. 
Rating: 10/10 

3. Toy Story 3 (2010) 

Oh no, I'm now actually going to start crying! See what I said about Toy Story 2, and apply it to this. It is rare for the third film in a franchise to be this great, let alone the best in the series. The only other franchises I can think of where the third one is the best are some of the Marvel franchises such as Thor or Avengers. This film has all the characters we know and love at their best, a really enjoyable prison escape segment, and even some moments where it feels as if all is lost. I am going to get into spoilers because this film has been out for almost a decade, but that scene with the incinerator is horrifying. I remember sitting in the cinema as a child, convinced I was about to watch some of my heroes be burned to ash. Looking back, obviously they'd never do that, but they made me believe they could for a moment. Above all else, this film beautifully ties up all loose ends, explores themes introduced in previous entries, and perhaps has the most fitting and satisfying conclusion to any animated series and these characters' stories. It was a pleasure to watch them all grow and learn, and it was even nicer to see them finish their story. Oh, wait a minute, it will be nice to see them finish their stories...
Rating: 10/10 

2. Cars (2006) 

Cars doesn't get a great deal of love and respect from Pixar and animation fans. It is seen as the black sheep of Pixar, probably because of the fact that it got an entire trilogy which featured one film that was rubbish, to others that is. However, I have many personal reasons that make me like Cars even more. It was, from what I remember, the first film I saw in the cinema. I remember getting all the toys and watching the film over and over. I also remember watching it at oddly memorable parts of my life (no specifics because it won't connote anything to you). Cars is a film that means a lot to me, and it is such a great film in addition. The opening scene never fails to get my blood pumping and put a huge grin on my face, the characters always raise a smile and deliver a chuckle, and the message is familiar but so well presented. I know you may disagree, but nothing can change my view on this film. I could never dislike Cars, even if somebody took apart the entire film and raised the most valid points about how flawed it is, I could never look at this film in negative light. There's too much good about it. 
I'd also like to address all the nitwits who point out inconsistencies in the world of Cars, such as "How could Doc Hudson frame that newspaper and hang it on the wall when he is a car?" That is a very good point, but what's important is what is in the frame, not how it was put on the wall. There's no need to be so pedantic because that has nothing to do with the overall ride of the film, unless you need to know every little aspect of how the world functions, which you don't.
Rating: 10/10 

1. Finding Nemo (2003) 

The main reason why Finding Nemo tops my list, aside from the touching story, endearing characters and astounding animation, is because I know that I can watch it whenever, and not be bored or in any way distasteful. There is not a single flaw I can identify here. This is the only film that has ever been made where I am certain I will always love it, regardless of how I'm feeling or what mood I'm in. It's such a well executed adventure and has so many memorable and even iconic encounters with sea life. Even the animation, which will soon enough be 20 years old, still holds up remarkably. I absolutely adore this film, and on some occasions, I have claimed it to be my favourite film of all time. It is that good. 
Rating: 10/10 

Conclusion 

Well, that's all of them. When I look back on this company's filmography, I realise just how many of these films were crucial to my childhood. Many of these were my main source of entertainment for ages. These films defined my childhood and while I will admit they are slowly running out of steam, I am always keen to see what they will deliver next. I hope these films continue to entertain, engage and inspire all children of the present and future, because they are some of the greatest achievements in not just modern animation, but modern cinema. Right, onto Toy Story 4...

Rocketman + Godzilla King of the Monsters - Movie Reviews - Solid starts to the summer season?

Basically, I've just finished my GCSEs, and there is nothing quite like the sense of relief when you're all done. However, in that time, I have neglected this blog, but not abandoned the cinema. I went to the cinema a few times during my exams but couldn't get any reviews written up because I just had no time. So, I thought I'd just squeeze both films into one post as I don't really have much to say about either, my thoughts are quite simple. I'll probably do this for other movies when my opinion hasn't got much to it. These will be different to my regular reviews as I'll just be brief. So, let's get caught up.

Firstly, Rocketman. This film is a 15, was released on May 22nd 2019, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS 

This is a story of famous rock star, Elton John (played by Taron Egerton), and his rise to fame along with all the troubles he faced. So, I like both Elton John and I like Taron Egerton, so this was essentially setting itself up to be a match made in heaven. I also quite like the director, Dexter Fletcher, who worked with Egerton on another film called Eddie the Eagle, which I also enjoyed. So, I was keen I'd have a good time with this movie. 

Overall, I can safely say I had more than a good time, a great time. What Rocketman does really well is make the generic rock star, underdog story more entertaining. Instead of being a biopic, Rocketman is a musical. This gave way for so many fabulous musical numbers where all of the very best of Elton John was sung and danced to. It was so mesmeric and smile inducing, and it made the film feel as if it had more life to it. Additionally, Taron Egerton was amazing, I was not expecting this. Not only does he perfectly encapsulate every aspect of Elton, he is also a terrific singer. He is the centre of most of the musical sequences and his voice has so much of the energy needed to carry them. His performance was so convincing and it shows he's come a long, long way since Eggsy in the first Kingsman. Additionally, the supporting cast are great too. Jamie Bell has gone from being excellent as Billy Elliot to excellent as Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden does a good job as John Reid, Elton's sly and manipulative manager, and Bryce Dallas Howard does her very best English accent as well as bringing a lot of the emotion into the film, as Elton's mother who shows little to no love or respect towards her son. Stephen Graham was also hilarious for the brief moments he was in the film.

On the negative side, the pacing wasn't particularly great. Some scenes did drag on but fortunately this is evened out by the great musical scenes. The slow scenes do add the much needed drama and depth but it's a shame some were a bit boring. My only other complaint is that the film didn't feel like it had a great narrative to it. Compared to the very recent Bohemian Rhapsody (which was partly directed by Fletcher), that film had all the drama culminate into the grand Live Aid performance, giving the narrative a proper climax and set piece to build towards, additionally it was outstandingly executed. This film definitely has a climax, but it is less extravagant and overall the narrative just felt a bit uneven, without something to build towards or around. However, at least this film is more historically accurate. 

As a whole, it's not going to be a long, long time before I see Rocketman again because I really enjoyed this film because of an amazing central performance, a solid supporting cast, and the wonderful emphasis on being a musical over a biopic. Despite some slow scenes and a bumpy narrative, Rocketman is a great film for a really uplifting and cheerful time. 

I'm going to give Rocketman an 8/10 

Now, let's move onto Godzilla: King of the Monsters. This film is a 12A, was released on May 29th 2019, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS 

What's this movie about? Well it's Godzilla, and he's facing off against other monsters such as Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah. To say I'm not invested in this current 'monster-verse' would be an understatement. I have not seen Godzilla (2014) because I just never got around to it, although I did thoroughly enjoy Kong: Skull Island, despite the fact that I can't recall much about it today. The reason I chose to see this new installment was that it just looked phenomenal. The visuals and whatnot from the trailers had me excited. Despite my lack of investment, I decided to go just for some good old Godzilla-beats-up-some-other-monsters action. 

Well, you know what I wanted, and this film definitely delivered. Where this excels is with the action. One of my biggest issues with a lot of monster movies is that they take too long to get going, only properly getting into the monster action we came for in the third act. But Godzilla: King of the Monsters has heard those criticisms and decided to completely shake things up. This movie wastes no time and cuts straight to the chase. I understand that taking time to reveal a big monster is an effective way of building tension, but given the context of what we're talking about, that a being a movie where the premise is that it's just Godzilla fighting other monsters, you can't blame them for just getting straight to it. Additionally, the action is fantastic. There is such a sense of scale and hugeness about all the creatures. So seeing them fight on a colossal scale was just something else. This is what I came for, and I got it. 

Inevitably, the characters are pretty weak. I didn't care for them at all. Granted, I don't know who comes to a Godzilla movie for the humans, but if they were well executed characters, there would've been a greater sense of tension and urgency, which was generally absent for most of the film. Also, there are many stupid decisions throughout, and while they try to justify them with some Thanos-esque reasoning, it's stupid and they just need to admit that. Also, while I was thoroughly entertained by it, the action did get a little bit fatiguing after some time. At first it is great, with some slow reveals of all the monsters and their capabilities. But by the end, it feels more like monotonous noise. Still enjoyable, but after an hour of the exact same, not so much.

All things considered, this was a consistently enjoyable time at the cinema. While Godzilla: King of the Monsters is mindless and has a lack of tension, there is plenty of exciting and bonkers, large-scale conflict to keep it from being dull. I enjoyed this movie and I'm sure anybody can if they just want to have a fun time and nothing much beyond that.

I'm going to give Godzilla: King of the Monsters a 7/10 

So, with my GCSEs now all done, I have plenty of time to go and see new films. I am probably going to go and see Endgame again while it's still hanging around, but Toy Story 4 is out next week and I am both super excited and incredibly nervous at the same time. Then there is much more to look forward to with Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Lion King, Hobbs and Shaw, and various other releases on the way. 

Also, if you like this short style of reviews, I'll do these more often for more films where I don't have an awful lot to comment on. These will be my NMTS (Not Much To Say) reviews.