March 2, 2024

2.3.23 Creed III totally delivers as a big-ticket franchise sequel, and then some. It has style, emotional heft and a leaner script than Creed II. Although it may lack the intelligence and pathos of the first film, it makes up for with the addition of Jonathan Majors, and his starring role as the film’s scheming antagonist. Although Ryan Coogler’s fingers are felt all over the script, this time it’s down to Michael B Jordan to both lead the film as the titular character and to direct it. He frankly does a brilliant job, adding a fresh sense of millionaire stardom and a tight family dynamic to the overall tone. There may be fewer fights here than in previous films, but when they come, Jordan’s persona and physicality in them is exhilarating, besting his performance from Black Panther (which honestly, is a very similar film to this). But as good as he is in it, Majors nearly runs away with the film. In Dame Anderson, we see a character that is both mysterious and at the same time, understandable. I’ve always enjoyed movie villains who appear nice at first, and slowly become more devious as the film progresses. When you add to that Dame’s charisma and his ‘nothing to lose’ attitude, he’s a sheer force. It’s one of the best ‘baddie’ roles of recent times I can think of (although I did like Idris Elba in The Harder They Fall, also starring Majors). The plot does feel familiar at times, with some of the family moments being played very straight and resolved too quickly, but the duality and manifested conflict between Adonis and Dame is what the film is all about. No sentimentality, product placement or sports drama trappings could make me lose my focus over that. I haven’t enjoyed many offerings of 2023 so far, but Creed III was the welcome gut punch that I was after.

26.8.23 I love Antony Starr as ‘evil asshole Superman’ in the disgustingly dark show The Boys, so when I saw him appear in the trailer for Cobweb, I just had to check it out. Sadly, the film doesn’t stand out in a crowded field of suburban horrors. Director Samuel Bodin just about delivers a competent and creepy tale that rises above mere knock-off status, even though the script feels like a lightweight composite of frightening but conventional conceits. The young protagonist, Peter, is played skillfully by Woody Norman (from C’mon C’mon), even though his struggles feel so familiar. The generic school bullies have obvious cause, but the vivid nightmares and eerie noises from inside his bedroom wall may not just be products of his overactive imagination. His parents dismiss concerns (played by Starr and Lizzy Caplan), but Peter’s teacher suspects threat from within the family. The script could have dug deeper into the dynamics of this family in crisis, as Starr and Kaplan simplistically play roles reflecting fairytale caricatures, walking a tightrope between benign and sinister as Peter’s parents. In minor praise, I felt that Cleopatra Coleman as the teacher brings some warmth and capacity to an underwritten role. Once the true villain emerges, the film descends into visceral chaos with a few intensely gory confrontations. While the ending feels rushed and a last-minute twist lands clumsily, the journey up to that point provides tautly chilling yet superficial entertainment. Overall, it’s a story without much logic, intriguing backstory or strength under scrutiny, but I suppose that’s to be expected from writer Chris Devlin, who also wrote last year’s awful Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot. Cobweb reinvents nothing new and feels too safe to be anything but mildly satisfying. Last year’s premier home-based horror was Barbarian, and sadly this is miles away from it in terms of invention or scares. As well as having a tedious title that has almost no relevance to the narrative, it’s unfortunate that Cobweb ends with such a weak ‘non-ending’, which annoyingly teases a sequel whilst at the same time leaving audiences indifferent to seeing it.