Movie Review - 28 Years Later

Director: Danny Boyle
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 115 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams
 
Description: A group of survivors of the rage virus live on a small island. When on of the group leaves the island on a mission into the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors.
 
Review: “28 Years Later” is the long-awaited sequel to “28 Days Later” (2002) and “28 Weeks Later” (2007). In my opinion, “28 Days Later” is one of the scariest films ever; ending up in a world like that is a nightmare. In “28 Years Later” we meet a group of survivors of the virus, who have started a civilization on a small island, that can only be reached at low tide.

The tension is there, the atmosphere is oppressive and brutal. And it is again terrifying. The performances are really strong. Jody Comer and Ralph Fiennes stand out, but it’s the young Alfie Williams that really impresses. He has a difficult role to play and he does it very well.

“28 Years Later” is a really good film, although very gory as well. Not for the faint of heart. It’s definitely not as good as “28 Days Later”, but I think it reached the same level as “28 Weeks Later”. Solid horror film.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Review - Help

Director: Marc Munden
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 98 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Jodie Comer, Stephen Graham
 
Description: Sarah (Jodie Comer) seems to have found her calling working in a Liverpool care home where she has a special talent for connecting with the residents. Then, in March 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic hits.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 45: A MOVIE WITH AN ACTOR YOU LOVE
 
Review: Sarah starts working at a Liverpool care home for residents with dementia. She forms a special bond with the relatively young Tony. Bu in March 2020 come the first reports of Covid. The film shows the initial ignorance, growing unrest and panic faced by the British healthcare system. Lack of funding and manpower make things considerably more difficult.

The film starts off fairly lighthearted and uplifting, but this builds up to a more harrowing tone as Covid starts to take its grip on the UK and the struggle faced by the care industry are played out.

As the virus spreads, residents start to feel ill and many of them die. The situation deteriorates and  resident’s names are stripped from the doors, their rooms sealed up, and staff are forced to isolate, quarantine and work double shifts. There is this one powerful 20+ minute one-shot scene, where we see Sarah on a 20 hour shift, all alone in the care home, struggling to look after Kenny, an older resident, as he suffers from Covid related symptoms and he struggles breathing. Sarah’s calm and collected demeanor slowly gives way to panic and anger as she realizes that she truly is on her own. With no help on the way. The whole film, but this scene especially, made a huge impact on me.

The third act of the film takes a slightly odd turn, but when you finally understand the reasoning behind it, it feels more logical. And it helps out the relationship between Sarah and Tony.

Jodie Comer shines as Sarah, what a wonderful, powerful performance. I felt all the feels because of her. And Stephen Graham, whom I’ve been a fan of for years, proofs why I am. He is such an underappreciated actor. And Comer and Graham are intensely compelling together and apart.

“Help” is one of those hidden gems, a film nobody knows about, let alone sees. I showcases a significantly underappreciated part of the healthcare system, which makes it an absolute must-watch.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - The Last Duel

Director: Ridley Scott
Genre: Drama/ Action
Runtime: 153 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck, Marton Csokas

I WATCHED THIS FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 50: A MOVIE SET IN A EUROPEAN COUNTRY
 
Description: King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) settle his dispute with his squire (Adam Driver) by challenging him to a duel.

Review: Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris are two friendly squires who go to war together for the king of France in the fourteenth century. De Carrouges is a somewhat gruff, antipathetic fellow who is at odds with everyone, while Le Gris is a charming man who gradually works his way up to become the confidant of the local count Piere d’Aleçon. And then Marguerite, the Carrouges’ beautiful wife, accuses Le Gris of rape.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon join forces again and wrote this script. Ridley Scott directs and the cast is completed with Adam Driver and Jodie Comer. The script is ingeniously put together. The film consists of three chapters, each of which sheds a different light on the case. The chapters show the whole case each time through the eyes of one of the protagonists: the Carrouges, Le Gris and Marguerite. Small details show us how the characters view the case, but in the end the truth comes out.
Ridley Scott is a master at creating atmosphere. As a result, the Middle Ages thought his eyes look almost as beautiful as they are brutal. The battles, the everyday worries, everything is cleverly rendered with a great eye for detail. And to top is all off, we get a brilliantly portrayed duel between the two formal friends.
Matt Damon is perfectly cast as the gruff Carrouges, while Driver seems the ideal Le gris. They are ably supported by a ravishing Jodie Comer, who I think is the true star of the film. Ben Affleck, not always strong as an actor, is the only downside when it comes to the performers. He comes off a bit cartoonish at times.
The contemporary theme is subtly addressed with, at the end, even the question of whether the punishment exceeds the crime and a stunning image of the peasant women who seem to silently encourage Marguerite. In short, a powerful epic with heroic battles and a particularly beautiful moral that manages to justify its long runtime.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - Free Guy

Director: Shawn Levy
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Science Fiction/ Adventure
Runtime: 114 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rey Howery, Joe Keery, Taika Waititi, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Aaron W. Reed, Britne Oldford, Camille Kostek, Mark Lainer

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 47: A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE
 
Description: A bank teller (Ryan Reynolds) discovers that he’s actually an NPC inside a brutal, open world video game.

Review: Free City is a popular online videogame, in which bank teller Guy lives in a loop. He is a Non Playable Character (NPC) who finds out about who he actually is and tries to fight it.
The appeal for “Free Guy” lies primarily in the concept of the story. Every gamer has hit or beaten the insignificant citizen in games that look similar as the fictional Free City. The film tells the story from the perspective of this background character. Doesn’t immediately sound like a must-see, but Ryan Reynolds plays the lead role and  due to him “Free Guy” is the success that it is. His wonderful innocent charisma in this film is unbelievably entertaining. His performance is pure, hilarious and optimistic. This movie would never have worked as well as it did if Reynolds wasn’t in it.
Yet beyond the main character Guy, there is a while world of details. The story about the NPC who becomes self-aware is grounded in reality by the subplot that takes place in the real world. Jodie Comer plays Millie, a game programmer who along with her friend Keys has an interesting relationship and shares conflict with Keys’ boss Antwan, who has stolen a piece of code from them and put it into his own, now very successful, game. With Millie and Keys, it’s more about their creation, they see the beauty in it. This storyline gives a lot more weight to the plot, increases the tension and makes us care about the conflict.
“Free Guy” is full of pop-culture references, which I am a sucker for. And it has one quick, but very awesome cameo that I won’t spoil.
Even though the movie is almost 2 hours long, time flies by. The film has some hilarious moments, strong action sequences and the visual effects are very impressive. And this is one of the few movies out right now, that isn’t really based on anything.
I was pleasantly surprised with “Free Guy”, it was such a fun film.

Rating: 3,5/ 5