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Showing posts from December, 2020

Review - Wonder Woman 1984

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Wonder Woman 1984 is not, as the title implies, the 1,984th film in the Wonder Woman  franchise. Instead, it's the sequel to that film a few years ago everyone loved called Wonder Woman , except instead of being set during World War 1, this film is set in (get this) 1984. Diana, being the seemingly ageless being she is, has continued living since that war, doing her best to help humanity and currently working at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington. However, this peace is disrupted when a mysterious magical mcguffin turns up, which has the power to grant the wish of whoever touches it. As you would expect, there are exactly no terrible consequences to it, but heroes and villains alike are using it to make their wildest dreams come true. It's hardly earth shaking stuff, but importantly, it doesn't have to be. This is a disposable blockbuster and in a year when disposable blockbusters have been so absent, I needed something as well plotted as this. Its plot is predictable, bu

Review - Mank

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  Mank is David Fincher's first film since 2014, when he released his trash pulp masterpiece Gone Girl . He has been busy since with TV projects but as a feature director, it's a welcome return, though not into territory that feels familiar for the director. He's got a hell of a filmography, mainly covering serial killers but also veering into sci-fi, home invasion and whatever the hell The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was. The most important touchstone though is The Social Network , as that was Fincher's last attempt at a biopic and also widely regarded as a drop dead masterpiece by many, including yours truly. And so, into that waiting void, Fincher drops Mank , his return to biopics, though this time about a much less prominent figure: Herman Mankiewicz. I admit I didn't quite feel the emotional punch I was hoping to. Because you are likely unaware, Herman Mankiewicz was one of the screenwriters behind Citizen Kane , a film often regarded as one of the greates