No Caine, No Gain

Coming off like a fatalistic fairytale, Martin McDonagh’s fourth feature film, The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), has been deemed a pitch black tragicomedy, whereas his other films (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) would more simply be described as dark comedies, or dramedies. Subtly drawing symbolic ties to the Irish Civil War of 1922-23 (it is set in 1923), as well as the long lasting strife known as The Troubles (which took place between the 1960s to 90s), this divide is shown by way of muses Pádraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson).

A supernatural tinged horror thriller, 2021's The Black Telephone (based upon Joe Hill’s short story of the same name), co-written and directed by Scott Derrickson, might never have you seeing those long corded, wall mounted phones in the same way ever again. Set in 1978, we follow Finney (Mason Thames), and, to a lesser extent, his younger sister Gwen (Madeline McGraw), in what should seemingly be an idyllic childhood in Denver. But, just below the surface, all is not right.

This is a tricky one to judge. Jordan Peele’s third writing/directorial effort, Nope (2022), is a highly creative and original concept that delves into the science fiction alien field... but is missing something to make it a truly effective effort. With its critics likely pointing to its title as an apt description, the word in fact references character reactions to some sort of alien craft seen in the sky. Though it still might have people pondering whether it means something else – perhaps, ‘Not of Planet Earth’, ‘Newly Ordained People Eaters’, or ‘Never Offer Predators Equines’. Set on a vast horse ranch in rural California, the Haywood family have been providing horses for Hollywood productions since day one (a cool reference back to the original moving picture – a galloping horse ridden by an African American jockey created by Eadweard Muybridge).

Trying to find a playful voice somewhere between a Guy Ritchie gangster flick and Quentin Tarantino (primarily Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction), Bullet Train (2022), written by Zak Olkewicz (based upon Kōtarō Isaka’s novel “Maria Beetle”) and directed by David Leitch (Atomic Blonde; Deadpool 2), does miss from time to time, but it still packs quite the walloping punch. Getting the most out of its fantastic setting, Bullet Train is set on, you guessed it, a bullet train. A journey from Tokyo to the end of the line in Kyoto, there is no better location for a comedic tinged action thriller than on a stunning yet inescapable mode of transportation. Providing a claustrophobic, ultra dangerous environment for our protagonist, Ladybug (Brad Pitt), he is a last minute replacement for infamous hitman Carver – a surprising blink and you’ll miss it cameo I won’t spoil.

There is no denying that I went into 2022's Uncharted, directed by Ruben Fleischer, with rather low expectations... let’s face it, there isn’t a great track record for film adaptations of video games, but somehow this one felt surprisingly enjoyable. Clearly in the vein of many a classic adventure film – think the Indiana Jones franchise, The Mummy (but not the 1930s or Tom Cruise iterations), the original Pirates of the Caribbean, Treasure Island and National Treasure, there is no chance that this will ever reach those sky-high heights, but it does entertainingly fill the gap while we wait for next great adventure flick.

Like a big old slice of Americana, Top Gun: Maverick throttles us back onto the ‘highway to the danger zone’ a whopping thirty six years after the original was released in 1986. Helmed by Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion), it harkens to a time when men were men, box office success screamed for pro-American storylines (for example, Rocky IV – which was released just a year earlier in 1985), and Tom Cruise was a bankable movie star (I guess some things haven’t changed). Oozing a most unique brand of joyous buoyancy, this sequel will likely find you grinning from ear to ear through large portions of the action seen onscreen. Following the titular Maverick (Cruise), not much has changed for the talented pilot. Never having progressed past the ranking of Capt., his call sign is aptly given... as his maverick ways have always hindered him from moving up the ranks.