filmsExaminer

'Pixar' fantasy adventure in the style of 'Mission Impossible' Takes place immediately after where the original finishes. Sexual equality is a major theme, this instalment focuses on the 'mother' character who is assigned missions to complete while the 'father' character stays at home to take care of the kids. As superheroes are illegal, the 'mother' hero wears a bodycam to record the action and raise public awareness. This is a high action and very colourful animated film. Great for a young audience, adults might find a little boring. 5/10

Extremely violent fantasy horror prequel with political and racist undertones. The intension is for the poor black population to wipe each other out. The drug lord character turns out to be the hero and so the social experiment goes wrong. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be but still pretty bad. 6/10

Based on a true story set in the 1980's. Romantic drama with a theme of surviving severe adversity at sea. Immediately kicks off amid the disaster and frequently flashes back to how the couple got there. Lots of effective special effects. The plot has a twist at the end. Customary actual photos of the actual characters during the end credits. For you if you like cheesy. 6/10

Indi documentary film based on a novel. Oscar worthy performance from Ben Foster, whose character is the father, struggling with PTSD. The beginning sets up the relationship between him and the daughter character. They follow a simple life, in the harsh forest environment, isolated from society, foraging for food, living completely outside of society. They also lead a nomadic existence but are eventually discovered by the authorities and brought in for psychological questioning. Later they encounter random strangers who offer many forms of assistance. Humanity is a strong theme throughout the film. The father makes all the life choices for them both, this causes some mild conflict but he knows that eventually his daughter will contemplate her own direction. In the end she makes a difficult decision. This is an alternative lifestyle film that may cause you to contemplate your own life choices. A film-maker's film and the work of genius. 10/10

Action packed, brutal, violent drama. A tense, gritty sequel to the brilliant first film with a strong haunting 'jaws like' soundtrack. The first film focuses on drugs, this instalment concerns how the Mexican cartels are trafficking people across the U.S. border. The U.S. Government decide to stage the kidnapping of the daughter of a Mexican Cartel kingpin in order to spark a war between the major cartels. The first ¾ is a well-crafted film, the remaining is ludicrous. It seems to me that a Hollywood executive probably got involved and insisted on how it should end and ultimately the abrupt end sets up for a third film. Sequels hardly ever measure up to the original and so this installment also falls a little short, though not as strong as the first, this is still a very good film. 8/10