CINEMA RELEASES 2024
Paramount Pictures, Broadway Video
Age Certificate: 12
IMDb: 5.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 69/100
Plot
Cady Heron is a hit with the Plastics, an A-list girl clique at her new school. But everything changes when she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels, the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George.
Review
Before going into this film, I had only watched the teaser trailer and that was it. I was oblivious to the fact that this was going to be a musical adaptation of the classic film 'Mean Girls' (2004). I came to the realisation only 2 minutes into the film which already opened with its first musical score. I assumed it was going to be a direct sequel but instead I was shown a recreation of the original film with music. The film, on its own, can be deemed as comedic; even for those who have not seen Mean Girls before. However, a lot of the iconic lines fell flat; the original cast did satire a lot better, especially when woke culture, 20 years ago, was not as prominent as it is in today's era. I would recommend the 2004 original movie to anyone interested as the script was barely changed for this remake.
My rating: 6/10
20th Century Fox, Oddball Entertainment
Age Certificate: 12A
IMDb: 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 80/100
Plot
Many years after the reign of Caesar, a young ape goes on a journey that will lead him to question everything he's been taught about the past and make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Review
Continuing on the legacy of Caesar, this film brings on a new protagonist called Noa. I was afraid that the film would try to make Noa become the "next Caesar" and the character would just not meet the same standards, however, Owen Teague gives the audience a new perspective into the Planet of the Apes franchise through his character, Noa. Though Teague takes a lot of inspiration from Andy Serkis as Caesar, he makes Noa his own as he had done his own research before filming. Surely, Noa will become a fan favourite in this trilogy just as Caesar was in the first three movies. The film itself was beautiful, not just the digital effects on the animals but also the scenery throughout. I can only imagine how long the Wētā FX editors had to work through making this film. Their work was rewarded by winning Outstanding Visual Effects Awards and being nominated for 10+ awards this year. For a fully extended review on this film: 'KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES' (2024) REVIEW
My rating: 7.8/10
Paramount Pictures, Platinum Dunes, Sunday Night Productions
Age Certificate: 15
IMDb: 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 86/100
Plot
A young woman named Sam finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing.
Review
Terrifying as the first two films, the prequel explores the same events of an alien invasion but in New York City, arguably one of the noisiest cities in the world. I was excited to see the catastrophe that would ensue in such situation, but it felt the same as the first two films. We got the scare factor but no new information about the aliens. The alien creatures continue to be an enigma even after this. I was surprised when the characters quickly got hold of the situation and acted accordingly especially when they realised that the creatures cannot swim. We, the audience, only found out after two movies. This film was definitely made for the cinemas as the sound plays a huge, if not the most important, factor into making this film a horror one.
My rating: 7.5/10
Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Amblin Entertainment
Age Certificate: 12A
IMDb: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 75/100
Plot
Kate Carter, a retired tornado-chaser and meteorologist, is persuaded to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team and new technologies.
Review
This film felt nostalgic even though I have not watched the original movie from 1996. There is a sense of warmth and the feeling of escapism whilst watching this movie about tornadoes. You don't have to know much about tornadoes to watch this; Glen Powell is enough reason to go see this film. Glen Powell saying "IF YOU FEEL IT, CHASE IT" has been in my mind since. Leaving the cinema hall made me want to chase tornadoes too.
My rating: 8.3/10
Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Maximum Effort
Age Certificate: 15
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 78/100
Plot
Deadpool is offered a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by the Time Variance Authority, but instead recruits a variant of Wolverine to save his universe from extinction.
Review
The opening act of the movie has been replaying in my mind since the film's release. Who knew the fans needed an opening fight scene of Deadpool against the TVA with NSYNC's 'Bye Bye Bye' playing in the background. To top it all off, Deadpool is using a dead Wolverine's bones to fight the TVA and he knows the choreograph to the NSYNC song a bit too well. It is bittersweet to know that Hugh Jackman returned to star in this film because of his stellar performance in the X-Men film 'Logan' (2017) and stating that it would be his last time ever playing the character. It felt emotional seeing his death at the end of the movie. So, when Ryan Reynolds calls him up for another appearance, this time in the MCU, Hugh was quick to say yes... can we watch 'Logan' the same way now that we know that there will be another Wolverine showing up later? Regardless, the movie was fun and comedic 90% of the time with the rest of the 10% being nostalgia and full of cameos. Once again, if you are familiar with Ryan Reynolds, his life, and his filmography, then you will understand the jokes in the film. You will also need to be up to date with the MCU timeline including the already established X-Men series and the Marvel TV series, especially 'Loki' (2021-23).
My rating: 8.5/10
Lionsgate Films, FilmNation Entertainment
Age Certificate: 18
IMDb: 4.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 22/100
Plot
Soulmates Eric and Shelly are brutally murdered. Given a chance to save the love of his life, Eric must sacrifice himself and traverse the worlds of the living and the dead, seeking revenge.
Review
With the whole movie centring around the main characters' love for each other and how Eric (the Crow) will do anything for his love; it tried to set up the relationship as quick as possible. The director, Rupert Sanders, probably thought that a montage of their bonding moments after escaping prison would show that they are really meant for each other and for us, the audience, to really see and invest into their love. That being said, the positives to take from this film was Bill Skarsgård and the gory action scenes.
My rating: 5.5/10
Paramount Pictures, Temple Hill Entertainment
Age Certificate: 18
IMDb: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 86/100
Plot
About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her past.
Review
The film continues straight after the events of the first film; Joel who takes on the curse has to find another host before the evil entity takes over his soul, kills him and moves onto the next. Though he passes on the curse, Joel dies in a shootout. Drug dealer, Lewis, then passes on the curse to singer Skye and the film follows her. We see how the entity takes over Skye's body, affecting her mental health and still dealing with the terrifying events that are happening in her personal life and work life. It was so good to see Naomi Scott take on such role. Watching her move on from roles in Disney's 'Lemonade Mouth' (2011), 'Power Rangers' (2017) and 'Aladdin' (2019) to now see Scott in the horror genre really shows her range in acting. The film itself was like a big hallucination simulation; we couldn't tell what was real and what was fake. I also enjoyed how we only got to see from the perspective of Skye because if we had flipped it to another perspective, we would think that Skye was on drugs again (as it is established in the movie that Skye has a history of substance abuse).
My rating: 8.7/10
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That wraps up all the movies I have watched in cinemas in 2024. There will be a lot more films coming out next year such as 'Captain America: Brave New World' and the live action 'How To Train Your Dragon'. I'm hoping for a 20th anniversary cinema release of 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith' (2005) as well for Star Wars Day.
Sabina 🦁
