Sunday 28 February 2021

Special: Flora & Ulysses, Judas And The Black Messiah, Outside The Wire Mini-Reviews

Flora & Ulysses:

Synopsis: An imaginative and creative 10-year old cynic never could have predicted that her little squirrel would be born anew as a superhero and have the uncanny knack for helping her and the lovable but broken people in her life.

My thoughts: This had a chance to be really good, but it also had the chance to be really cheesy (and not in the good way). Flora & Ulysses walked the tight rope as well as it could and ended up in the middle of the two outcomes. We've seen some stinker VFX on Disney+ thus far but this flick safely avoids that as most of the visuals are well done. The acting was about as good as you can expect it given the premises and Danny Pudi makes for quite the menacing (and hilarious) villain. The film is overall charming but lacked it in a couple key places which did hold the film back.

Final verdict: 3.5 comic books out of 5.

Judas And The Black Messiah:

Synopsis: FBI informant William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther Party and is tasked with keeping tabs on their charismatic leader, Chairman Fred Hampton. A career thief, O'Neal revels in the danger of manipulating both his comrades and his handler, Special Agent Roy Mitchell. Hampton's political prowess grows just as he's falling in love with fellow revolutionary Deborah Johnson. Meanwhile, a battle wages for O'Neal's soul. Will he align with the forces of good? Or subdue Hampton and The Panthers by any means, as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover commands?

My thoughts: A great movie from most angles that is expected to do well come award season. I find the film does the bare minimum in developing our two main characters so that we care about what happens to them and in saying that, how was this over 2 hours? With that kind of runtime I'd expect better but instead of focusing on the negatives I'll simply enjoy the overall package delivered to us.

Final verdict: 4 revolutions out of 5.

Outside The Wire:

Synopsis: In the near future, a drone pilot sent into a war zone finds himself paired up with a top-secret android officer on a mission to stop a nuclear attack.

My thoughts: I had assumed we'd get better out of this movie. Sci-Fi isn't my favourite genre but I figured Mackie could command my attention for 2 hours and although that was mostly true, the premise left me scratching my head more often than not. The ending of the film had a chance to challenge the perception of the viewer but instead slapped a bow on it and gave us an expected ending. 

Final verdict: 3 bionic men out of 5.

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