Yep, there are some weird combos here. But you know, gotta catch (watch) ‘em all.
Black Bag
No, it’s not a film about an item of a dark hue that can be used to store a wide variety of items. Shocking, I know. It’s a pretty beige spy flick in the style of Mr and Mrs Smith that sees espionage couple Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchet pitted against each other when Fassbender is led to believe that Blanchet might be a double agent. A mole, perhaps. And a few spy/detective actors pop up to reinforce that mystery aesthetic (Strike’s Tom Burke features, as do Bond alumni Pierce Brosnan and Naomie Harris).
There are a few twists and turns, but Black Bag ultimately isn’t as clever as it thinks it is despite the cool, claustrophobic aesthetic. And it gets a bit Poirot/Knives Out-y in the final scene. Not that that’s a bad thing, it just didn’t work with what came before. Also, it leans into that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy aesthetic a bit too much, which is a bad move considering it’s nowhere near that calibre. Smiley is SUSPICIOUS, Percy (if you know, you know).
The Alto Knights
Another misleading title. No, it’s not about a bunch of chivalrous, iron-clad dudes who have a penchant for singing at an unconscionably high pitch. No, that’s just the name of the place where all the gangster dudes congregate in this particular joint. And the film’s poster is awfully keen to let you know that this is a gangster joint. Part of the text reads: ‘From the hitmakers of Goodfellas (woo!), The Irishman (Boo!), and Bugsy (eh?)’ Note that those mildly irritating bracket interjections were added by yours truly, they’re not on the poster. Just to clarify. Goodfellas is a worthy flex to smack up there. It’s a stole cold classic, after all. But The Irishman? Meh.
And I honestly haven’t seen Bugsy. Hence the ‘eh?’ that you witnessed earlier. After a quick google, it seems like it’s a good film. Anyway, all these shoutouts let you know that you’ll be down deep in the gangster genre. And you sure are, because gangster afficionado Robert De Niro’s plays both of the main characters, warring wise guys Frank Costello and Vito Genovese in 50’s America. There’s a lot of wise-cracking bravura masculinity, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. The set pieces are impressive, yet excessive monologuing and the questionable casting of De Niro in both roles doesn’t exactly make this joint a, uh, Knight to remember. I’ll get my coat.
Pokémon Concierge
Hey. Whoa there. Don’t look at me like that. My aging pooch needed babysitting after a brown performance in the morning, so I needed to watch something fairly low energy in order to keep an eye on the lad at the same time. I ended up being presently surprised (by the show, not the brown performance). No, there’s not much to the plot, and there are only four short episodes, but I really liked the animation style. And it’s always fun to see to Pokémon running around, particularly when they’re rendered as adorably as they are here. Unlike the above titles, this title pretty much hits the nail on the head. A young woman needs some respite from her daily life so she heads off to an island to work as a concierge for the Pokémon visitors who pop by. Sure, it’s nothing revolutionary, but it’s a nice fun distraction to watch while making sure your old dogen doesn’t end up, uh, browning the carpet again. Would recommend.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
I’d been meaning to watch this when it first came out but never got round to it. But now I have. And it’s fine. Ryan Reynolds gives a reliable voice acting presence as the eponymous yellow mouse, and as with the previous entry, it’s always fun to see those pocket monsters on the big screen. And I appreciated the shout out to how much everyone hates Mr Mime. That was a mood. The human acting was pretty mid, however, even though the screenplay didn’t exactly give them a load to work with. Anyway, it’s fine. I wouldn’t mind if they did a sequel at some point in the future. Apparently there is one vaguely in the works. But not definitely. Anyway. There’s room for improvement.