CINEMA FIX PRESENTS: JUNE MOVIE REVIEW ROUND-UP

After the relative cinematic highs of Avengers: Endgame (2019) and John Wick 3 (2019), I’ve been choosing my battles in regard to the big budget blockbuster movies currently released at the cinema. I’m sure they are very good but I have swerved Aladdin (2019) and Rocketman (2019) as they did not appeal to me.

Anyway, I’ve mixed up some of my film viewing choices so far this month with big and lower budget films at the cinema and via online streaming platforms. Here are some mini-reviews with the usual marks out of eleven.

**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

MA (2019) – ODEON CINEMA

Like Isabelle Huppert in Greta (2019), another amazing actress takes on the role of a disturbed matriarch figure with terrifying aplomb. Indeed, Octavia Spencer is absolutely brilliant in her role as the seemingly kind but ultimately vicious avenging angel, Sue Ann Ellington A.K.A, ‘Ma.’ The story begins with a casual encounter between some teenagers and Sue Ann. They are after illicit alcohol and somewhere to party. What starts innocently then spirals into a full-on psychological horror movie by the end.

The script slowly builds the tension as Ma’s plan carefully moves from convivial host to the unhinged nutter. I liked that they developed Ma’s character motivation beyond the standard cardboard cut-out pantomime villain. Plus, the levels of gore and suspense were darkly enjoyable. Thematically, the film has some familiar genre tropes such as: the new girl trying to fit in; rebellious teens being taught a lesson; past events creating a vengeful monster; and an element of Munchausen’s by proxy etc. However, these aren’t really developed and are window-dressing to the twisted joy of watching Octavia Spencer go into full “bunny boiler” mode and then some!!

Mark: 8 out of 11

GODZILLA 2: KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019) – ODEON CINEMA

Despite really enjoying King Kong: Skull Island (2017) I wasn’t bothered about watching this sequel to the recent Godzilla (2014), because Godzilla/Gojira is a fundamentally dull creature. I get that it’s a cultural phenomenon in Japan; one that reflects the horror of nuclear devastation; however, on the big screen it’s usually a lumbering lizard which, while presenting a strong visual image, is essentially all about destruction. The first film I found pretty boring with too little of Godzilla to make it very exciting. Thankfully, the sequel goes monster mad and you get four fantastic beasts for your money.

Thus, for sheer energy and the appearances of Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah, all battling each other at various times, Michael Dougherty and his production team deserve some credit. However, the mistake they made was trying to give the story an interesting human angle. While the cast, including Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown, did their best as the dysfunctional nuclear family, they were poorly established, creating an empathy vacuum that just got in the way of the monster stuff. Overall, it’s clumsy B-movie narrative is blown away by the impressive visuals, in a mostly waste-of-budget and ultimately forgettable cinema experience.

Mark: 6 out of 11

EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY EVIL AND VILE (2019) – SKY CINEMA

If you have read or seen anything about the life of infamous serial-killer Ted Bundy, then this psychological drama doesn’t necessarily tell you anything you do not know. Bundy terrorized an abundance of innocent victims across many of the States in America, for much of the 1970s. A conventionally attractive, intelligent and charming manipulator on the outside, he hid a venal desire to attack, assault and murder young women.

Bundy denied these attacks until the very last, as Joe Berlinger’s solid biopic shows Bundy’s actions and character from the perspective of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Kendall (Lily Collins). The film takes a while to kick into gear but when we get to the prison escapes and court cases then the horror of Bundy’s crimes really impacts. Zac Efron is a revelation as Bundy and he owns the screen with a performance of magnetic evil. The final chilling scene where Kendall confronts him through the glass is a particularly memorable exchange.

Mark: 7.5 out of 11

THE PERFECTION (2019) – NETFLIX

This horror film started if off brilliantly. It begins with two talented musicians (Alison Williams and Logan Browning) meeting and taking time out of their schedule to tour rural China. Suddenly, one of them is attacked by a flesh-eating virus and you think so far, so nasty! However, it soon undoes the excellent opening by descending into a non-sensical revenge story full of plot-holes. To be honest the themes exploring: #MeToo and #Time’sUp combined with a critique of toxic-svengali-masculinity were absolutely fascinating. It’s a shame the sub-Cronenberg narrative fell apart by the end, as the gory events unfold with little sense of empathy or logic. Indeed, I’m still baffled what any of it had to do with classical music!!

Mark: 5.5 out of 11