Brandino Movies

A few months ago, when reviewing Thunderbolts* , I posed the question of the 'Marvel Saviour'. One movie that has the power to singlehandedly restore everybody's faith in the MCU after a rocky few years. I concluded by saying that Thunderbolts*  doesn't quite reach that benchmark but - very optimistically - preemptively awarded that title to The Fantastic Four: First Steps . After getting the opportunity to be one of the first to watch this early, I can say with almost full certainty that I was correct. It may not bring everybody back, that bridge was burned many years ago, but I'm confident that Marvel's first family can guide us into a new era of the MCU which I am very excited for and I'm sure you will be too. I'll begin by saying this review will not contain any spoilers whatsoever. I may hint towards moments but I won't outright ruin anything for you. I want you to have just as amazing a time as I had with this and I would feel terrible to find ...

DC have been in quite a bad place in their movie department, particularly their cinematic universe. With so many main characters being executed so poorly to a point of being a betrayal of their core characteristics, and simply just bad movies, they've been digging themselves deeper and deeper into this hole as they try to rush keeping up with the powerhouse that is Marvel Studios. This newest movie, Superman , has been promised as the start of a new cinematic universe, clearing the way for some finally great DC movies - all spearheaded by James Gunn - and this movie does just that. I should preface this review by saying I'm not a Superman fan. I haven't read any comics, however I know the core principles of what Superman stands for and should be. Saying this, I absolutely loved this movie. Every single moment perfectly encapsulates what I think a Superman movie should be. While it does have its fair share of flaws, the most important thing with any movie is the way it makes...

Recent entries into the Jurassic franchise have been nothing short of disappointing. With lacklustre concepts and even a story not even about dinosaurs, it was only looking downhill for the once amazing series. However, after the disaster that was Dominion, we were showcased a new Jurassic World movie. We were promised a return to the horror aspects present in the original movie and an island full of defects and monsters of human creation, yet it was all a lie. I actively dislike Jurassic World Rebirth more than movies I actually thought were worse this year. That is for one specific but very big reason, which is also the reason for my dislike of M3GAN 2.0 - misleading trailers. This was marketed as a return to the horrors of these towering monsters, showing them lurking in darkness, ready to strike at the right moment. I'm sure if you've been to the cinema at all in the past three months you would've heard the phrase "worst of the worst" multiple times.  We were ...

The F1 movie is surprisingly incredible. I went into this expecting something reminiscent of the quality of Gran Turismo , with a few Formula 1 drivers thrown in for good measure, and I came out absolutely astounded. Do I think this is the best of the year so far? No, that award is still held by  Sinners . However, this is a very close second and I wouldn't be surprised if you said this is your favourite. This movie is incredibly fast paced and exhilarating, just like a Formula 1 race feels. Once we're thrown into the action, it never gives you a single moment to rest or breathe in the best possible way. The driving sequences are beautifully shot and so exciting to watch, feeling very reminiscent of Top Gun: Maverick 's flying scenes. Kosinski clearly took a lot of inspiration from his other work, which works so well for what these scenes were trying to capture. What really makes this movie, though, is the relationship between our two main characters, Sonny Hayes and Josh...

28 Days Later is widely regarded as one of the best zombie apocalypse movies of all time, making the creation of any sequels near impossible as they'd struggle to recapture what made the original so great. They tried with 2007's 28 Weeks Later but failed miserably to see the meaning and point of its predecessor. So, has the newest entry - 28 Years Later - managed to reignite that spark or has it ultimately blown out the flame, leaving no hope for the future trilogy? First off, while this movie does deserve to be spoken about in its own right, it is a sequel to a beloved movie so there is some need for comparison, in part. However, as this seemingly tries to erase 28 Weeks Later 's mark - making it no longer part of the official canon - there's no need for me to cite that movie in any comparisons I may make. This is a movie of two parts, both amazing in their own ways. We start with themes that war is a never ending loop and that death is inevitable - which is also some...

Pixar hasn't been in the best shape for the past few years in terms of feature films. With a few amazing yet under appreciated movies in Soul and Luca, and a few underperformers with both reception and quality in Turning Red and Lightyear respectively, Pixar has been in desperate need of a comeback. So, has its newest entry been the saviour of Pixar's original stories? Probably not, but it should be. The reason I say this likely isn't Pixar's saviour is simply because of its marketing. Due to some big problems with the production, the budget for this movie skyrocketed, meaning it had to be cut somewhere else. That happened to be its marketing budget. This meant that a majority of people wouldn't have even known of this movies existence, let alone its release date, which will inevitably cause this to underperform and prove to Pixar that original movies just may not be worth it.  There's an argument to be made that this was on purpose, to give Pixar - and more imp...

How To Train Your Dragon is an incredibly beloved trilogy from people of all ages. Both its silly humour and interestingly deep themes have caused many people that have grown up with these movies to create a very strong attachment to the characters and this world. With this in mind, surely it is impossible to create a faithful adaptation to the live action format that keeps everybody happy, right? Well the answer to that question will always be a resounding yes no matter what, but this movie gives it a good go and it seems to have paid off in part. This movie is so fun. Putting any 'filmbro' instincts I have aside, this is an incredible movie. The most important thing is that this captures the same magic as the original, and I believe that has been achieved ten times over because this just made me feel like a kid again. I should really start this off by saying it's hard to write a review for a movie like this without simply repeating myself over and over. I came out of the ...