David R. Walker

Archive for November, 2025

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M. Chu

Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater, Colman Domingo, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James

Running Time: 2 hours and 17 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10  

Crazy, Rich Asians and In The Heights director Jon M. Chu directs an elegant sequel to Wicked in Wicked: For Good set again in Oz. This time Ariana Grande steals the limelight in her sparkling pink bubble as the ultimate fairy Glinda. Although she is a witch, she is the Good witch and her opposite Elphaba expertly played again by Cynthia Erivo is being demonised in the land of Oz by Madame Morible, master manipulator played by Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) who is convincing the general vibrant population that Elphaba is indeed the wicked witch of the west.

As the dynamic between Glinda and Elphaba is heightened by the announcement of the wedding between Glinda and the extremely handsome and buff Fiyero played by Jonathan Bailey, the Wizard of Oz wonderfully played by Jeff Goldblum is hiding a dark secret in which Elphaba is determined to uncover.

Wicked: For Good is an excellent musical film with exceptionally high production values, gorgeous costumes by Oscar winning costume designer Paul Tazewell (Wicked) and extravagant production design by Nathan Crowley yet it is a far different film to Wicked.

Firstly, Wicked was all about Elphaba while Wicked: For Good is all about Glinda and Ariana Grande deserves another Oscar nomination for her brilliant portrayal of that brittle and demanding princess that is Glinda whose pink bubble gets rightly pricked when Fiyero leaves her at the altar for her nemesis.

In the midst of all the chaos at Oz, Madame Morible creates a hurricane which naturally brings in Dorothy fresh from Kansas along with the Tin Man and Scarecrow who all proceed down the yellow brick road to pander to the wishes of the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy unknowingly stole Elphaba’s dead sister’s sparkling ruby slippers.

Interestingly the arrival of Dorothy is not the focal point of Wicked: For Good it is more of a side story. We catch glimpses of Dorothy in a closet, running along the yellow brick road and hell bent on destroying Elphaba. Remember this is the back story of The Wizard of Oz. Jon M. Chu pays cinematic homage to the infamous 1939 Oscar winning film The Wizard of Oz but he doesn’t remake that story. That’s a classic best left untouched.

Wicked: For Good focuses on the bizarre love triangle between Glinda, Elphaba and Fiyero but of the three it is by far Glinda that steals this gorgeous show.  

The musical numbers in Wicked: For Good are well-executed, definitely appealing to those that love big Hollywood musicals. This film sequel should do well at the 2026 Oscar nominations.

Wicked: For Good is a truly magical film which is high value entertainment best seen on the biggest screen possible. Ariana Grande is absolutely superb in this film upstaging Dorothy and coming to terms with Elphaba’s unrelenting power.

Highly recommended viewing for those that loved the first film, Wicked: For Good gets a film rating of 8 out of 10. Magical, enchanting and definitely entertaining.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Rosamund Pike, Isla Fisher, Dominic Sessa, Justice Smith, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo, Thabang Molaba, Ariana Goldblatt, Lizzy Caplan

Running Time: 1 hour 53 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Nine years after the sequel, Now You See Me 2 in 2016, Gangster Squad director Ruben Fleischer reunites the four horseman of magic in the third instalment aptly titled Now You See Me: Now You Don’t starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco.

In the new film some bright young characters emerge, ambitious magicians that are trying to emulate the four horseman. These are June played by Ariana Goldblatt, Bosco brilliantly played by Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers) and Charlie played by Justice Smith.

J. Daniel Atlas eloquently played with enough charisma by Eisenberg recruits the young magicians to help him pull off a daring diamond heist in Antwerp, Belgium. Enter the villain.

Rosamund Pike is no stranger to playing the villain, after she played Miranda Frost in 2002’s James Bond film Die Another Day. This time the British Oscar nominee effortlessly takes on a strong South African accent to play diamond heiress Veronica Vanderberg who inherited her father’s South African diamond empire.

She has a sparkling very expensive diamond in which the magicians want to steal at a diamond auction in Antwerp. Many disappearing acts occur in which the diamond is snatched by the four horsemen and their young accomplices. They flee Belgium for a mysterious Chateau in France where they meet chief magician and illusionist Thaddeus Bradley played by Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby).

Things go south at the Chateau and soon Merritt McKinney played by Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson (The People vs Larry Flynt, The Messenger, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri) is kidnapped by the ruthless but vivacious Vanderberg.

Swiftly a fifth magician appears, Lizzy Caplan reprising her role as Luna and the entire gang head to Abu Dhabi to the Yas Marina Grand Prix circuit whereby Vanderberg Enterprises will be showcasing their new racing car. The magicians land up getting caught in a sandbox quickly filling with sand while Vanderberg seems to escape into the Arabian night.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t has great entertainment value judging by how fill the cinema was when I saw it. It is a sleek and visually impressive film with a great ensemble cast and sufficient tricky to wow the viewers into being captivated by every sleight of hand and misdirection.

With multiple screenwriters contributing to the screenplay, the narrative is outlandish and pure escapism but that is what magic is all about.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is pure entertainment with no violence, lots of action and loads of magic helped by a truly talented ensemble cast. Recommended viewing.

After the Hunt

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Cast: Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Michael Stuhlbarg, Andrew Garfield, Chloe Sevigny

Running Time: 2 hours and 18 minutes

Film Rating: 6 out of 10

THIS FILM IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON AMAZON PRIME

Sicilian director Luca Gudagnino follows on from the success of his previous film Challengers which was lavishly shot with a strange psychological thriller in which he attempts unsuccessfully to capture the zeitgeist of the early 2020’s in his new film After the Hunt.

Fortunately Oscar winner Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) centres this uneven and ultimately disappointing film which unravels from the middle onwards.

Roberts plays an ambitious philosophy lecturer Alma at the prestigious Yale University where by her and her fellow lecturer Hank superbly played with hyper masculinity by Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge, Tick Tick, Boom) are embroiled in a dangerous and toxic game of accusations and counter accusations when an arch manipulator and troubled student Maggie brilliantly played by The Bear star Ayo Edebiri disrupts their comfortable and privileged lives.

After a particularly boozy party at Alma’s house hosted by herself and her husband, clinical psychologist Frederik expertly played by Michael Stuhlbarg, Hank accompanies Maggie home.

The next day Maggie, Alma’s star philosophy graduate student comes to her professor with a shocking accusation that Hank tried to touch her inappropriately. There is no proof, only insinuation and hearsay.

Simultaneously Hank tells Alma that Maggie has plagiarised her philosophy dissertation and then when he gets accused and fired by the University faculty he explodes and tells Alma that he is a victim of this shallow cultural moment.

After the Hunt unfortunately doesn’t dwell on specifics in a meandering narrative which will leave the viewer slightly confused. Director Luca Guadagnino was keen to make a film that captured the zeitgeist of the MeToo movement in an academic setting but he doesn’t capitalize on a narrative which could have been explosive and challenging. After the Hunt suffers from a poor script and an overlong narrative which makes the film economically unviable.

Despite some great scenes between Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield, the entire film seems to virtue signal about a cultural moment which hasn’t finished running its course, so it’s true impact is impossible to quantify. After the Hunt will challenge viewers perceptions but will not entertain them.

After the Hunt has great potential, but sags in the middle causing the morally questionable characters to unsuccessfully sustain a narrative which lacks resolution.

Luca Guadagnino should go back to the formula which made his hit films so brilliant. After The Hunt fails to equal the brilliance of Call Me By Your Name or even Challengers.

After the Hunt gets a film rating of 6 out of 10.

The Running Man

Director: Edgar Wright

Cast: Glen Powell, Lee Pace, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin, Jayme Lawson, William H. Macy, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones

Running time: 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Baby Driver director Edgar Wright tackles with freneticism a remake of the 1987 action film The Running Man which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso and Yaphet Kotto.

This time Top Gun Maverick and Twisters star Glen Powell takes the lead role as a poor man Ben Richards with anger issues that has to enter a reality TV show about how to survive without getting murdered in a Dystopian America set in a hyper contemporary future which strangely reflects the 2020’s.

The production design by Marcus Rowland is amazing in The Running Man as the story, with a screenplay by Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall based on the novel by horror writer Steven King, tracks the bizarre adventure of Richards as he enters The Running Man reality TV show in a vibrant and often violent game of hide and seek. As Richards travels from Co-op city to New York then Boston and onto Maine, he meets an assortment of fascinating characters. The most notable is forger Molie played by Oscar nominee William H. Macy (Sideways) and Elton Perrakis as the conspiracy theory weird dude who lives in a rambling house in Maine with his mother, brilliantly played by Michael Cera (Juno, Barbie).

The reality TV show is a dystopian colosseum as hordes of viewers eagerly watch the hunt of Ben Richards with bloodlust as the host of the show Bobby T whips up the crowd in a frenzy. Bobby T is flamboyantly played by Oscar nominee Colman Domingo (Rustin, Sing Sing) as he answers to the shady corporate TV network producer Dan Killian played by Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Milk).

The Running Man is absolutely crazy and frenetic. Unfortunately Edgar Wright over directs this dystopian thriller but what saves this film is the charisma of Glen Powell whose good looks and gusto will make the film audience want Ben Richards to stay alive and save his wife and child and beat the show at its own murderous game all skilfully orchestrated by TV ratings and audience participation.

Some superb scenes in the film include a fight scene between Ben Richards and ruthless hunter Evan McCone played by Lee Pace (Captain Marvel) on a jetliner while a horrified captive Amelia Williams played by rising British star Emilia Jones looks on.

The Running Man is The Hunger Games on steroids, a fantastically crazy action film which is loud, brash and over directed by Edgar Wright who often gets the pacing of the film wrong. It is thoroughly entertaining especially watching the hunk Glen Powell outwit the crazy hunters and take revenge on the evil TV producer Killian.

Despite bad editing and a lack of pacing, The Running Man gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is an entertaining action film with outlandish characters and a leading man in which everyone will be cheering for as he goes up against an oppressive social system in which the rich willingly crush the poor purely for entertainment value.

The Running Man is certainly dystopian but very familiar in the current media climate. Recommended viewing for those that love high adrenalin action films set in a bizarre futuristic world.