Author: Joel Fisher

What’s one third exposition, one third pointless fight scenes and one third character flashbacks that nobody cares about? That’s right, it’s the 2019 reboot of Hellboy. In 2004, Guillermo Del Toro brought the beloved but unconventional comic book hero to life. The mixture of fantasy, heart and Ron Perlman’s charismatic performance gave the movie a cult following and despite the less successful sequel, fans still hoped for a third instalment. Unfortunately, it was never meant to be and the reigns of the potential franchise were given over to Lionsgate and director Neil Marshall.

Cut to 2019, Hellboy (David Harbour) is a hard drinking, demon fighting machine who reluctantly takes on the worst monsters that hell can spit out and puts them right back. His father, Professor Broom (Ian McShane) gave him a home after stopping a hole being ripped open between hell and Earth. However, unlike the 2004 loving father/son relationship between John Hurt and Ron Perlman, McShane’s Professor Broom treats his ‘son’ like a weapon and so to hide his anguish, Hellboy drowns his sorrows in drink and buries himself in his work, which mainly consists of gory, overly violent fights.

In fact, the 2019 Hellboy reboot is squarely aimed at teenage boys whose fathers have never told them they love them. However, even when the movie tries to explore the emotions of its protagonist, it quickly fails as Hellboy is thrust into nonsensical fight scenes which are designed to pad out the running time. Whether it be the studio or the director’s choice, the message is clear that a man should bury his emotions and resort to drinking and fighting.

Hellboy is joined on his adventure by Alice Monaghan (Sasha Lane) a psychic who Hellboy saved when she was a baby and by Major Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim) a soldier who hides a dark secret about his time in combat. It’s a shame then that despite these character’s back stories (and the audience finds out about them whether they like it or not) that neither of these characters hold any kind of emotional connection to Hellboy. It’s as if he just picks up these supporting characters along the way and they form no bond, no emotional growth and absolutely no character development. In Alice’s case she is just a walking plot device. Add to that the supporting actors appalling English accents and their presence only seems to emphasise the weak and stilted dialogue.

Many characters are also thrown at the screen and are no doubt nods to die hard fans of the comics but for the most part they are quickly discarded with barely a nod or a wink to the audience. The brief moments of comedy come from Hellboy and Harbour puts in a good performance but has very little to do as the script never really gives his character a chance to shine. There are also fleeting moments of comedy from the Liverpudlian warthog, Gruagach (Stephen Graham) but again the inferiority complex that the character displays and his history with Hellboy is never fleshed out enough to make it funny. Finally, we come to the villain of the piece, Nimue (Mila Jovovich) who I should have guessed by her involvement that the quality of the film would be less than stellar. Many bad roles have extinguished any hope of Jovovich’s screen presence and she comes across as somebody who just turned up to read the lines and go home. Much like McShane’s performance now I come to think of it.

The Hellboy reboot is a complete failure as far as characters, plot and emotional weight are concerned. Director Neil Marshall’s early 2000’s horror hits Dog Soldiers and The Descent made him a perfect fit for a darker take on the Hellboy franchise but it’s clear that something went very wrong in the edit. The result is an unwatchable, incoherent mess that’s unsure what audience it’s aiming to please. The film even has the audacity to tease a sequel which suggests that the studio was so blinded by the prospect of making money that they forgot to make an enjoyable movie.  Hellboy sure is hell, boys and girls.

Qiao (Tao Zhao) and her boyfriend, Bin (Fan Liao) are a couple at the head of a small criminal gang. Inherited after the former leader dies, Bin and Qiao set about to keep things going and also keep their relationship as strong as it ever was before. However, Qiao is no shy and retiring wallflower and is well aware as to what she is getting into and so the power couple try to maintain their business and manage the violence that gets thrown in their direction, particularly when it is directed towards Bin.

Then one night, a violent gang attack gets out of hand and in the name of love, Qiao’s actions send them both to prison. Five years pass and on Qiao’s release she starts to realise that getting things back to the way they were before will not be as easy as she expected.

Ash is Purest White talks about the dynamics between two people in what seems to be a solid relationship, the expectations that men put upon women and what happens after everything goes wrong. Qiao and Bin’s relationship is never seen as some kind of Bonnie and Clyde, love conquers all passage to happiness but instead starts out by showing them as equal partners in a criminal world.

However, as Qiao is released from prison her eyes are opened, as are the audience’s, and through the many interactions she has with the men she meets while trying to find Bin, it puts a lens up to the world and a realistic portrayal of the expectations that men put upon women because of the presumed entitlement they may feel as the stronger sex.

Qiao’s encounters never feel forced or clichéd but are all too real and recognisable, the difference being that Qiao is no fool and whereas other films may expect her experiences to play out differently, here she is very aware of how the world is for a woman and she expertly works her way around it to get to where she wants.

Zhao’s performance is impressive. Displaying a strong, determined attitude that always stays realistic, Zhao’s character arc shows her just as any other woman, not overly strong or athletic nor glamorous and feisty. Qiao is just who she is and through Zhao’s performance the audience understands exactly what Qiao has had to endure and why she is sick of being treated as second best.

A satisfying story of love, loss and retribution, Ash is Purest White is not in any way comparable to its Western counterparts and feels more nuanced and unexpected for that reason. The audience is never led to believe certain things about the characters but is instead given a realistic portrayal of China in the 21^st Century and how gender roles can mean so much for some and so little for others.

Don’t expect a dramatic Hollywood style ending either or a ‘love is all you need’ message either. Ash is Purest White intends to show how much Qiao is willing to go through in the name of love and although the film is never shocking or all that surprising in terms of what happens to her, there are bound to be many who view it who will be able to relate to her story.  

What superpower would you have if you had the choice? Would you fly? Would you have superhuman strength? Or would you be invisible? These fantasies are what fill the minds of most boys and girls, but one boy is going to find out exactly what it means to have great power, great responsibility and a great family.

Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is an orphan. He knows his mother is out there and he’s been searching for a long time, unfortunately Billy is close to getting on the wrong side of the law in order to find her. Taken into a foster home, Billy meets the children that live there and his new foster parents. Initially unsure about his new surroundings, he makes friends with Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) and slowly starts to settle into his new family life. However, little does he know but Billy has a great destiny that awaits him.

Shazam is the latest superhero movie from Warner Bros/DC Comics that pulls from the enormous well of comic book characters to bring a new hero to the big screen. After the critical and commercial failures of recent DC movies featuring the comic company’s most famous characters, taking a little-known superhero and putting a child friendly comedic spin on the superhero genre was quite a risk. Luckily that risk has paid off.

After being summoned by a great wizard (Djimon Hounsou), all Billy has to do is to say his name and the wizard’s powers will belong to him. However, a side effect is that after his transformation, Billy will change into an all-powerful, adult sized superhero named Shazam (Zachary Levi) and Billy isn’t ready to be thrust into adulthood just yet. However, he must adjust quickly, because someone is coming to take back the powers that have been bestowed upon Billy and use them for himself.

Unlike other superhero movies, Shazam takes something that hasn’t been seen in the genre for a long time and mixes it with an old-fashioned (in a good way) family movie. These days there is so much at stake when a superhero film is made. There are high expectations for a new franchise even if the majority of its audience has never heard of the titular character. There’s also the balance to think about, whether it be dark and brooding or whether it be light but filled with anticipation due to all the films that came before it. A superhero film has to delight both new audiences and hardcore fans alike and I’m happy to say that Shazam is an all-round crowd-pleaser.

The script is hilarious and it’s a refreshing change to see a superhero film that’s not bogged down by what came before so it can have a chance to be its own thing. Shazam knows this all too well and it has a lot of fun with it, not caring about whether there will be a sequel (I’m sure there will be) or whether it will make a billion dollars. Shazam is there to purely entertain and it does so in spades. The cast are all excellent and clearly having fun, from Levi’s Shazam to Mark Strong’s villainous Dr. Sivana, they all know exactly what they’re doing and revel in the freedom to be funny, over the top and give an audience exactly what it wants.

There is also a lot of heart in the movie and sometimes a little realism in the background which grounds Billy’s story and helps to enforce the bond with his foster family but the film doesn’t stay there long as the sharp, witty script leaves the audience smiling. When boys and girls dream of being a superhero, the thing that drives them is the hope that one day their lives will be amazing as they had always hoped.

The way that the film brings out that hope is something that is rarely seen in superhero movies these days and it is a welcome return and something more movies in the genre should be doing. So, for a funny, heart-warming and uplifting movie there is only one word I can say. SHAZAM!

Kit (Brie Larson) is bored with her life. She sits at home all day watching TV in her parents’ living room and thinks about all the failures that have happened in her life. The dreams of what could have been have gone unfulfilled but after an intervention from her parents she is determined to do something – even if it’s just to please them.

After seeing an advert on TV, Kit applies for a job as a temp in an office and is soon approached by the rather creepy vice president, Gary (Hamish Linklater). Gary also (not so subtly) suggests that if Kit does everything he tells her he can see big things in her future (for example, him). Then one day Kit gets an invitation from a place simply known as ‘The Store’ and after some careful thought she decides to go along, after all what’s the worst that could happen?

At ‘The Store’, Kit is greeted by The Salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) a flamboyant, eccentric and carefree man that says that if she can prove herself then she can have anything that she wants, even a unicorn. So, Kit goes about making preparations for her new unicorn’s arrival but whilst getting everything ready she starts to learn more about herself and the life that she really wants.

Unicorn Store is the directorial debut from Brie Larson and unusually for a feature debut by a Hollywood star, Larson’s movie takes the guise of a quirky indie comedy rather than an epic blockbuster that puts her front and centre. As the film goes on, Larson’s characterisation doesn’t pass judgement on Kit where other movies would, telling her to let go of childish things if she wants to make her way in the world. Instead the movie is about embracing the person you are as well as making a life for yourself that you can be truly happy about. 

The movie is about being an adult but not forgetting that sense of wonder and imagination that makes a person who they are. The messages will no doubt resonate with women as the film talks about how a woman can struggle to be taken seriously and still maintain her femininity whereas a man can still be a geek and treated equally. Although personally speaking, as a geek in his mid-thirties there’s often a time and a place to be seen wearing a Star Wars t-shirt so in a way I can relate to the message.

At times, it may seem that Samantha McIntyre’s screenplay may be a little heavy handed when signalling the male stereotypes but Larson’s performance never makes Kit into somebody unrealistically naïve as she manages to maintain a hopeful outlook on life. It could even be that some audience members wish they could get back the view of the world that Kit still keeps so close to her heart whereas reality is so much uglier.