ethanbresnett

Nobody absolutely blew my socks off in the same way that John Wick or Taken did. Just a flash in the pan piece of brilliance that positioned Bob Odenkirk as an action superstar. For the sequel, they had to try to do something quite special to recapture that magic, but they didn't quite manage that. That being said, Nobody 2 is still a very strong and entertaining sequel, it just doesn't quite hook you in and spit you out like the first one did.

Once again the plot follows Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell, a man with a particular set of skills who finds himself caught up in the affairs of Sharon Stone's crime boss. Its a perfectly reasonable plot that gives us plenty of scope for action sequences and cliche family moments.

The action is the main draw of this film, and it does it well. There's a good mix of hand to hand combat, gun fights, big explosions, and it's all shot very well. Odenkirk once again rises to the challenge and performs well, and the supporting cast is scattered with good performances.

Overall then, this sequel is unlikely to blow you away and it doesn't hold a candle to the first film, but it does it job of being an entertaining film chock full of decent action.

Together is such a brilliantly inventive yet simple concept that is executed very well.

The story follows couple Tim and Millie who move to an isolated house in the countryside for the latter's new teaching position. As an emotional cloud hangs over the couple, a fateful night suddenly finds them inexplicably drawn to each other.

It's a simple but very effective set up that opens doors for great body horror but also some solid exploration of love and being in a relationship and dependency. None of these are drilled into in any great depth, but they are adequately explored. The body horror is quite strong, although not necessarily overly graphic for the most part. It is just the ideas that it is presenting that will get under your skin. In this way, it isn't a particularly scary film, just a bit unsettling.

The story is strong, although doesn't look too deeply into explaining what is going. It is more focused on the characters and what they are going through, and is maybe at its weakest when it tries to dig into why what is happening is happening.

The glue that holds the whole thing together though are the brilliant lead performances from Dave Franco and Alison Brie. Their off screen relationship obviously bred the chemistry needed to nail the dynamic between the two, and it worked so well.

So ultimately, I think this is a very strong film. Great concept, well executed, and with great lead performances.

Nothing about this film worked for me at all.

I get what it was trying to do. I've seen other films which have attempted something similar in tone and style that I have enjoyed, but The Toxic Avenger just missed the mark.

The plot felt so ragged and boring. The humour just didn't land for me. The performances were fine. I get what they were trying to do, but it just wasn't to my taste.

There's a market and an audience out there for this kind of thing, but I am not that audience.