• The film is inspired by the comic series Birds of Prey which was originally published by DC Comics in 1996.
• Black Canary and Huntress have been core members of the team throughout the series.
• Renee Montoya is a more recent addition to Birds of Prey comics; the character originated in the TV realm.
• While Harley Quinn has appeared in the comics from time to time, to date she has never been a part of the team. That will change this year as DC Comics writes her into the series in issues releasing later this year.
• All of the characters featured in the film (i.e., Harley, Canary, Huntress, Renee, Cassandra Cain, as well as the film’s villains Roman Sionis/aka Black Mask and Zsasz) are part of the Batman comic universe.
• According to comic lore, Cassandra Cain becomes Batgirl, but this is never alluded to in the film.

You ever hear the one about the cop, the songbird, the psycho and the mafia princess? “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” is a twisted tale told by Harley herself, as only Harley can tell it. When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis, and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya’s paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.

Loaded with fun, dark and twisted humour that cheekily skewers pop culture archetypes and an action-packed roller coaster ride – Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is the origin story of the most unlikely girl gang. Infused throughout with a bold, subversive, sometimes surreal tone and over-the-top outrageousness – Birds of Prey turns the superhero genre inside out – delivering a strong message of empowerment via Harley’s particular brand of anarchic joie de vivre.

It is yet another shining light in DC Comics’ continued rise with this easily and possibly being their best movie yet, at least we think so. There’s literally nothing like the Harley Quinn character out there (except for maybe a certain Deadpool) and the uniqueness of it is what sets not only the character but also this movie apart from the rest of what we’ve seen in a live action comic book based movie. Birds of Prey is a thrilling ride full of fun, quirkiness, fantastic action and fighting scenes with a ridiculousness that is quite engaging and charming.

Built for the character perfectly, Margot Robbie was born to play this character and she brings one of the greatest and unassuming comic book villains to life in the most effective way possible. The supporting cast also does a fantastic job in making the whole package what it is with Ewan McGregor delivering an expertly done and humorous rendition of the Black Mask character, the villain of the movie. As you can tell we don’t have anything bad to say about this one because there really isn’t anything bad to mention.

The above should be enough to convince you to make a date to go see this one and if it wasn’t clear then, well, DO IT. In cinemas officially from today, Birds of Prey is a great way to kickstart the year, we reckon it will take some beating and is easily our fave and leading movie in 2020. DC has the best comic book characters and not only are they starting to get it right but they’re doing so by telling their villains stories (this being another great example) which is by far their greatest asset. Well played DC folk, Birds of Prey gets a fantabulous 8.5 out of 10 rating from us.  

Our thanks to Empire Entertainment for the great screening. 

Officially on the movie circuit from today, Doctor Sleep stars Ewan McGregor who is a very familiar face in the movieverse with his previous movie credits including Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Angels & Demons, T2 Trainspotting and much more. He’s also scheduled to appear in the anticipated Birds of Prey. So yes, quite the impressive CV he has and that’s one of the reasons why this one was always going to be an interesting prospect to check out:

Doctor Sleep is the continuation of Danny Torrance’s story 40 years after the terrifying events of Stephen King’s The Shining. Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the “shine.” Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality. Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra’s innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before-at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past.

The best way to describe this movie is freaky and just plain weird, that’s the impression we got while watching and right after it ended. We get the impression that it tries to be too many things at the same time, yes it’s a fantasy/thriller but it also tries to be a horror movie that also has flashes of comic book hero status with characters who have supernatural powers and use them to battle against a creepy foe. So yes, this one is a tad all over the place and in the end presents itself as an okay watch.

It also feels longer than it should be with its 2h 31m running time feeling like overkill (excuse the pun). It’s not the best of movies we’ve watched but it’s also not the worst. It does have some really cool moments and scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat, sadly these are few and far in between. The movie had the potential to be something more, with a clear direction from the onset this and more might have been achieved.

Doctor Sleep tries to be too many things at the same time. Picking up from the classic 80’s horror movie The Shining, we expected this one to be much more. It’s not the worst movie we’ve seen, it does have some cool features and sequences in patches despite. A bit average in our books though and that’s why it gets a 5 out of 10 rating from us.  

Our thanks to Empire Entertainment for hosting us and of course the great screening.