Film Round-Up: Us, The Queen’s Corgi and Booksmart
Let’s get on with it!
Us
Jordan Peele’s follow-up to break-out hit Get Out. This one sees Lupita Nyong’o and family take on a set of doppelgangers out to kill them. It is an intense movie and one that never lets up once the doppelgangers, known as the Tethered, show up because it never feels safe. This is the biggest strength of the movie and where it’s scariest. It’s a typical second movie after a hit in that Peele keeps the same sort of style and techniques that made Get Out so good but tries a bit more complex story. While that story can be a bit tough to follow at times and it does leave you with a few ‘I really don’t know what’s going on’ moments, it does work thanks to a smart script. I personally prefer Get Out because the simplicity of the story allows the horror and subtext to be enjoyed more easily, but the Get Out Vs Us debate is one that I’m going to enjoy watching over the next few years.
The Queen’s Corgi
Rex, the Queen’s prized corgi and top dog, finds himself out of the palace and in the kennels so he must try and find a way to return. This is dreck. The animation would make the original Toy Story embarrassed. And yes I love that movie but the animation has aged badly you have to admit. The movie is kicked off with Donald Trump visiting and the Palace and all the same jokes you’ve heard a million times before are heard. The actual plot is started by Rex trying to avoid having sex with Donald Trump’s corgi which is something I have now written so thanks film. The movie then proceeds with incredibly stale jokes, including Rex singing Puppy Love to a romantic interest, a clichéd plot than even Saturday Morning TV would be superior to and nothing being any fun. I know this is a movie aimed purely at children but it doesn’t mean you have to pump out this lazy crap for a cheap buck.
Booksmart
Amy and Molly are the top students in school and are heading off to some of the best colleges in America after working incredibly hard. However, after finding out all the party goers and jocks have also got into those universities, they panic that they have wasted their school lives and decide to go to one big party before they graduate. This is basically Superbad but for girls and that’s not a bad thing. Amy and Molly are very fun characters to be around and you don’t mind following them around the city as they try to find this one party that they can have fun at. There is a bit too much cringe comedy for my liking but that does usually come with the territory. But for the majority of the movie, it’s very funny and even a bit touching at times. Definitely one of the better comedies of the year.
