Speak No Evil (2024) Review

I haven't been to the cinema for a while and I saw this film being marketed so I decided to go today and watch Speak No Evil and here is my review for the film. The premise of the film sees a family invited to spend a weekend with a family that they met abroad but everything is not quite as it seems. 

Main Character

James McAvoy plays Paddy and he is fantastic in this film, he is one of the best actors working today and roles like this clearly proves it. He is so charismatic and just the way he delivers his lines are fascinating and he is giving a brilliant performance that you just want to learn more about him and see him more on screen. 

Supporting Characters

Mackenzie Davis plays Louise and Scott McNairy plays Ben and they are the couple spending the weekend with McAvoy and his family and they are really great. They play their roles really well and even though they are frustrating at times it works for this film and Davis in particular really shines in her role and I want to see her in more things. 

Aisling Franciosi plays Ciara and is the wife of Paddy and she is really good. Even though McAvoy is the clear standout she has great chemistry with him and she delivers a strong performance and she added so much to the tension and drama that is going on. 

Even the child actors are great, Alix West Lefler as Agnes & Dan Hough as Ant really deliver on their roles. In fact Ant is one of the more interesting parts of the film and when we meet him we see why he is a bit different and how difficult a role this is and how well he really did. 

Story

The story is interesting, the film takes its time in getting you invested and make you care about the characters in this film. You see the different characters perspective and you know it is building into a big reveal towards the end and it delivers on that well. I just think the film ends really abruptly, I understand why but it did leave me feel like I didn't really get any answers. 

Script

The characters are written extremely well and they are interesting and really fleshed out, the way the film progresses is really well handled and you gain a greater understanding of the circumstances. But the film did make some of the characters a bit stupid at times and some of the storytelling devices are slightly repetitive. 

Style 

I really like how the film presents itself and the way the film uses tension to bring in the viewer and make this a pretty scary situation. It isn't a horror film and uses minimal horror tropes which I am really thankful of and made me enjoy it more. However, the film has some slightly odd pacing. It just takes ages to really get going and I feel like this film would have been even better had it been cut down by like 10 mins and more killer, less filler being in the film. 

Overall

Overall, Speak No Evil is a good film and a pleasant surprise of 2024. It's not perfect, but keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout and McAvoy gives a truly special performance. I think if you have some spare time then Speak No Evil is a worthy time at the cinema. 

Rating - 7/10

Thunderbolts* (2025) Trailer Review

After a relatively quiet year for The MCU, Marvel Studios have today released the first trailer for one of their films next year Thunderbolts* There has been plenty of leaks and info released about the film but this is our first official look and here are my thoughts of this trailer for the upcoming film. 

Yelena & Bucky will be the leads

The beginning of the trailer makes it pretty clear that Yelena is going to play a major part in this film and after her redemption in Hawkeye, I am looking forward to seeing her in a leading role here. The end of the trailer also makes it clear that Bucky is once again going to be in the leading role. I do wonder how his character has got in this situation after the events of Falcon and The Winter Soldier but I am sure we will have plenty of time to find out. 

It seems like the characters lack purpose. 

We hear Yelena talking about her lack of purpose, while we see Bucky entering a court room and John Walker reading articles about his failure as Captain America. We also see Red Guardian with no work and down on his luck, it gives a decent reason for them all to get involved in the story. 

The Main Characters are set up

We See Yelena, John Walker, Ghost, Taskmaster & a man called Bob bought together seemingly trying to kill each other. They quickly realise that there dark histories has led to somebody wanting to kill them and take them off the board which will force there team up. 

Ghost & Taskmaster have new costumes

Ghost played by Hannah John-Kamen and Taskmaster played by Olga Kurylenko are two of the least used villains in The MCU and they are back for this film and they both have new costumes. I like the fact they have streamlined Taskmasters costume and actually makes it look like a woman is the one beneath the costume. The Ghost costume is completely different and I am not a huge fan and think it looks a bit clunky and cheap. 

We are introduced to Bob AKA Sentry

While the characters fight, we are introduced to Bob who will be played by Lewis Pullman. The characters know nothing about Bob and we are given hints to what we can expect from him. Sentry in the comics is similar to Superman and is extremely powerful, we even see the Sentry logo later in the trailer so it seems he will be a big part in the film. 

Bucky is on his own mission tracking Valentina 

We see that Bucky isn't with the other members of the group straight away and is on his own mission. The trailer makes it clear that he is spying on Valentina and trying to find out what she is up to. Valentina has basically been the Nick Fury assembling these characters together so that will be how these characters come together. 

Are the Thunderbolts working for Valentina?

Later on the trailer we see Red Guardian, Bucky, John Walker, Yelena & Ghost meet with Valentina and find out what is going on. It even links to a moment earlier in the trailer where Bucky asks Valentina what the plan is. 

Bob isn't in this shot, my initial theory makes me think that once he becomes Sentry he is going to turn and become the villain of the film and the threat that the group has to take on. 

What is the * in the title?

There was recently some big interest in a slight change to the title with the addition of an Asterix next to Thunderbolts. It seems likely that the group of characters that we see in the trailer aren't actually the Thunderbolts and they are going to go against the real group led by Sentry. 

Can it escape The Suicide Squad comparisons?

Ever since this film was announced it has drawn huge comparisons to DC's offering of The Suicide Squad and on the surface I can see why. Obviously, this is a different group of characters and I am hoping that this film does some things to stand out and be different then those other films. 

Overall

Overall, I am excited for Thunderbolts* and this trailer did add to my hype and I am looking forward to seeing this film and hopefully can be another hit for Marvel Studios.  

First Impressions - The Penguin (2024)

In the week of comic book TV premiers we now have DC's delivery with the first episode of The Penguin. After the success of The Batman, this show was quickly announced to focus on Colin Farrell's Penguin and how he attempts to take over the criminal underworld after the events of the film. I have watched the episode and here are my impressions, obviously there will be spoilers here. 

Colin Farrell owns every scene that he is in. 

Before we start to talk about the actual episode, credit has to go to Colin Farrell who does an amazing job as Oz Cobb and owns every scene. The makeup and prosthetics is a big commitment for an actor and if you didn't know you would struggle to recognise him. He is perfect as this criminal that is trying to build up his empire and I am a big fan of this character.

The show is very soon after The Batman

At the end of The Batman, we saw the death of Carmine Falcone and the destruction of the slums of Gotham city by Riddler and his forces. It shows a city still in disrepair and that the wealthy were unaffected by the disaster at the end of the film. 

Penguin kills Alberto Falcone

Upon the death of his father, Alberto Falcone has taken over the criminal empire of his family, However, at the beginning of the episode he runs into Oz and ends up disrespecting him and Oz ends up killing him. This is obviously going to be the big event that gets the show rolling and puts Oz under pressure. 

Sofia Falcone returns

A big event of the episode sees the return of Sofia Falcone. She has been locked up in Arkham but is now out. She is looking for her brother and she seems pretty twisted, we learn throughout the episode that she is unhinged but also clever as she works out pretty quickly that Oz was involved in her Brothers disappearance. 

Penguin does anything to survive

Throughout the episode, Penguin seems to do a lot in order to survive. He pays off a prostitute to be his alibi, he attempts to run away with his mother and he even tries to offer his services to Maroni. That last one does feel like a part of his grand plan and now he is locked in to taking over the Empire. 

A War between Falone & Maroni has been set up

Sofia captures Oz and tortures him to try and find out where Alberto is. But during the interrogation, the car that has Alberto's body arrives at the manor. This is clearly set out to show Maroni being the one who killed Alberto and thus start a war between the two families. This should see Penguin trying to manipulate both sides and takes his spot as the king. 

Overall

Overall, I enjoyed the first episode of The Penguin. It is slower paced and does take a bit of a time to get going but it is a cool mob show and I think these characters are going to be interesting enough to keep me invested. 

First Impressions - Agatha All Along (2024)

After WandaVision made its way to Disney+ a standout character was the villain Agatha Harkness played by Kathryn Hahn. So Disney and Marvel Studios made the decision to make a spinoff show based on the character called Agatha All Along. After a long wait we now have the first 2 episodes of the show on the streaming service and here are my first impressions of the show, there will definitely be spoilers for this show here. 

Agatha is trapped in a spell

At the end of WandaVision, we saw Wanda using her powers as The Scarlett Witch and The Darkhold to imprison Agatha and punish her for her crimes. We find out here that she is living as a detective in a hard boiled cop show that is incredibly cheesy. It seems like she has been living this life for the last 3 years and she only starts to work out what is going on when a big event happens. 

Aubrey Plaza plays a vengeful witch

We meet Plaza in the Detective episode as a fellow detective. But it is clear that her and Agatha know each other from there witching days. There is a clear dislike for each other and for a reason that we don't quite have, Plaza wants to kill Agatha, hopefully this gets revealed in the future episodes. 

Wanda Maximoff is Confirmed Dead

At the end of Doctor Strange: In The Multiverse of Madness, Wanda ends up presumed dead but here we have a confirmation that she has died. Because of her death, Agatha remains trapped in her spell permanently but starts to remember being a witch. I think in terms of the wider MCU, I don't think this means Wanda will stay dead and I even think this show might be setting up her return. 

The People of Westview remember what happened in WandaVision

This isn't a huge part of the episode but it is mentioned a few times that all the people in Westview remember everything that happened during the events of WandaVision. This must be pretty traumatising for these people as they were basically brainwashed, which does further enhance that Wanda did some pretty bad stuff. 

Who is Joe Locke playing?

There has been plenty of speculation towards who Joe Locke is playing on the show. His identity is clearly a major part of the show as many characters ask who he is. It seems like a spell stops Agatha from learning his name and any real information about him. 

The biggest theory is that he is playing Billy Maximoff. A younger version of the character seemingly died in WandaVision but this is the theory that makes clear sense. He really wants to team with Agatha and I believe he is doing this in order to attempt to resurrect his mother and have the life with her that he never got. They will have to explain how he is alive but they have plenty of magical ways of doing this. 

Is the show necessary?

As entertaining as Agatha was in WandaVision. I do question whether she needed her own spin-off show. I think there was more room for her character to appear but she is pretty unlikeable at this point in the show so it makes it hard to fully care about her. I do fear that the only reason this show has been made was to resurrect Scarlett Witch and have an excuse to bring her back into The MCU. 

Overall

Overall, the first two episodes of Agatha All Along are not that inspiring, there are entertaining moments for sure but I found it quite dull at times and the storytelling devices weren't that unique and were pretty cliché. I will keep watching the show but I am not overly confident that this is going to be one of Marvels best Disney+ Shows. 

L.A. Noire (2011) Review

While playing video games, you get games that have associations with big organisations that maybe don't get as much love as they should and I feel like L.A. Noire is one of those games so I decided to re-play the game and here is my review for the game. The premise of the game sees a War Hero & Rookie Cop rising through the ranks of the L.A.P.D during the 1940s. 

Characters

Aaron Stanton plays Cole Phelps and he is our main protagonist here and he is fantastic. Due to the technology used for this game we really get to see the extent of his performance and the depth he gives Cole. Cole is definitely a flawed hero and has some real issues that we have to deal with as players and Cole was a great character. 

Later on in the game we end up playing as Jack Kelso played by Gil McKinney and he was also a great character. He is a bit more intense then Cole and we don't spend as much time with him but he slips into the protagonist role really well and it feels seamless. 

Over the course of the game you are paired with different partners and they are all great characters and have great chemistry with Cole. Michael McGrady playing Rusty Galloway is my favourite and his development over the Homicide desk is really fun. Adam J Harrington as Roy Earle is the biggest slime ball in the game and he relishes in it making him one of the most memorable characters in the game. Sean McGowan as Stefan Bekowsky & Keith Szarabajka as Herschel Briggs are good partners and add a lot to their desks. 

There isn't one bad performance in this game and the technology really enhances these performances and makes it closer to TV or Film. Some of my favourites being John Noble as Leland Monroe & Peter Blomquist as Dr Harlan Fontaine. 

Story

The story is really interesting and nailed the tone of the 1940s and the brutality of Los Angeles. All the cases are interesting and as you get different partners throughout it keeps things fresh. The desks are Traffic, Homicide, Vice and Arson, Homicide was my favourite and I loved playing though the different cases on the desk, the others are really good and the story gets more focused in the final 2 cases. There are flashbacks that further enhance the story and shows Cole and Jacks journey while they go though their cases. The main issue for me is the ending of the story, it just feels a little weak and sudden, it kind of fits the tone of the game but it just left me not satisfied and I wish we had got a bit more. 

Side Content

This game doesn't have a lot of side content. The main one being the street crimes you can deal with and these are short but somewhat entertaining and break up the pace of the main cases pretty well. But it feels like there is a lot missing here and there was potential to have a more interactive world, more activities could have fleshed the game out and given the beautiful world life. 

Gameplay

The best part of this game are the interrogations, these interrogations are so unique and have never been done since and I have no idea why. These are the best part of the game and trying to decipher whether people are lying or telling the truth is a real challenge and kept me engaged throughout. There are gun sequences, car chases and foot chases that are all well done but they clearly aren't the focus compared to the interrogations. 

Graphics

The game looks fantastic, especially with the re-mastered version that I played. The technology used adds to every performance and makes every character feel like real people and made the interrogations feel more difficult. The locations are beautiful and I think it does add a lot to the background of the game. 

Overall

Overall, L.A. Noire is a great game that has so much good to it. This is such a unique slower paced game that won't be for everybody, but if you can handle that then you will fall in love with this game and want to keep investigating. 

Rating - 8/10

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 (2022) Review

I am a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings but I did not want to watch this show and had little interest. But with Season 2 just starting its release schedule, I thought it was time for me to watch this show and I have now watched the first season of Rings of Power and here is my review for it. The premise of the show is set thousands of years before Lord of the Rings and sees the different species try to survive against the dark forces of Middle Earth. 

Main Character

Morfydd Clark plays a young Galadriel and I did find it unfortunate that I really didn't care about this character. She is just really dull and the show doesn't do a good enough job of making you care about her or her character. Clark, does try and that deserves a bit of credit but with her being the clear protagonist of this show, she falls really flat. 

Supporting Cast

The cast is pretty large, and it is mixed for sure. I think a lot of the performers were hampered by shoddy writing and poor storytelling which gave them little to work with. 

Robert Aramayo plays young Elrond and I really liked him. He doesn't really feel like Elrond but I can't deny that he is entertaining to watch and there is plenty of depth made to his character and I found the scenes involving him and Durin played by Owain Arthur to be the most entertaining of the show. 

Charlie Vickers plays Halbrand and he is alright, he actually has some charm and charisma to him which helps him rise above some shoddy writing for the character. I thought he did a good job and made me intrigued by his character. 

But the rest of the cast really suffers, Arondir played by Ismael Cruz Cordova is really boring. He is great in the action sequences, but he is so monotone and soft spoken that it was hard to care about him and he just falls really flat, especially with how much time we spend with him. 

The story involving Daniel Weyman as The Stranger and Markella Kavenagh as Nori is really dull and boring. It tries to be mysterious but it never really goes anywhere, it took till the finale to try and make them interesting but there characters were a sore part of the show. 

Story

The story really misses the mark. I saw it described as a fan fiction of JRR Tolkein's work and I am afraid that it does really feel like that. The show tries to force intrigue and interest by hiding a lot of information about the characters but that made it really hard to get invested. Then the final episode has a few reveals that feel rushed and not earned for the show and I hope the story improves in the future.

Script

The show is unfortunately not written well. All the dialogue feels really forced and those bits that are good are due to the actors rising above this shoddy writing. Not much makes sense and making so many storylines that involve mystery makes things feeling frustratingly not complete. 

Style

Easily the best part of the show is the style. The show looks beautiful, you can tell it has a huge budget and for the most part it is really effective. Middle Earth looks great and I am glad that this show has the essence of the universe with both its looks and also its fantastic music choices. The action scenes are also great and have a bit more brutality which I definitely enjoyed. 

Overall

Overall, Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Season 1 is a bad show and falls really flat of its licence. It is definitely an example of style of substance and I hope the second season is a huge improvement on this as the franchise deserves way better. 

Rating - 3/10