The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel continues the tale of the British retirees (Bill Nighy, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith among others) as the Hotel they stay in has become full and Sonny (Dev Patel) is looking to expand to a new outlet but Guy Chambers (Richard Gere) may prove to be one bump on that road.
I was very very excited to see this movie going into it mainly because I really liked the first film and this 2nd one added Gere to the cast which pushed it into "Here take my money" territory so could the film deliver the goods or was it a victim of my own hype to see it?
Well it gives me great pleasure to say that I had a great time here watching this film, a lot of the same creative team from that film return here and their presence is felt as you really feel right at home revisiting these characters in their new life in India, Nighy, Patel, Dench and Smith are particularly good here and there were numerous times where I had a good laugh.
But I have to talk about Gere some more as I was just beaming from ear to ear whenever he was on screen and I also couldn't help but think of the song "Up Where we Belong" from Gere's breakout film An Officer and a Gentleman at times so I hope that the success of this film will let us see him in more films in the future.
Sadly the film does have a flaw to it and its the length, the film does feel 15-20 minutes too long and towards the end of the film I did check my watch on some occasions but despite that I did enjoy myself.
And so the 2nd Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a most valuable second entry with these characters and I had a great time despite the length, 3 and a half out of 5.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
Film Review - Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Jupiter Ascending is the newest film from Andy and Lana Wachowski and this tells the tale of Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) a lowly house cleaner from a Russian family who is later saved by an alien creature named Caine (Channing Tatum) who also tells her she may hold the key to saving the Earth.
Going into this film I was very optimistic primarily because of my love of Sci-Fi films but also the Wachowski's have rarely impressed me since their 2 Matrix sequels in 2003 were badly handled misfires, could this film right their ship once more or is it another case of hitting the creative iceberg.
Sadly this is another misfire and there are a number of reasons for this but before I delve into those I will talk about what I did like and that is the music score by Michael Giacchino, the Production Design and the Visual Effects all of these make this a good big screen experience.
But as I said this was a misfire for me for these reasons:
- The first reason is that the script here is very muddled and at times I thought I was watching a bad Game of Thrones knockoff with all of its talk of duelling family members and deadly weddings and various other goings on plus there is the whole thing with the industry which didn't really make much sense and I felt had to go as all it did was muddy the storytelling river.
- The second is the casting, Kunis is a real bore to watch as most of the time she's either falling from great heights or screaming at the top of her lungs and I just got sick of her after a while, Tatum shows off his physical prowess but is pretty dull here (hopefully this won't be the case when he becomes Gambit) while Sean Bean does the jaded mentor role and Eddie Redmayne turns everything up to 18 on the OTT scale first by whispering his dialogue THEN SHOUTING SOME OF HIS LINES LIKE THIS!!!! and unlike Joel Edgerton's I AM THE GOD!!! from Exodus last year it isn't even worth a bad laugh.
- And lastly the climax is very cliched with the ticking clock and the exploding place and the race to freedom at the last minute and that as well as a fair chunk of the film just left me bored somewhat and checking my watch.
And so that was Jupiter Ascending sadly a Sci-Fi misfire from a creative team who really need to stop being given blank cheques at this point as they have increasingly failed to deliver and also sadly that with the exception of Neill Blomkamp's upcoming Chappie there may not be much Sci-Fi coming out before we all feel the force again with the new Star Wars film in December, 1 out of 5.
Going into this film I was very optimistic primarily because of my love of Sci-Fi films but also the Wachowski's have rarely impressed me since their 2 Matrix sequels in 2003 were badly handled misfires, could this film right their ship once more or is it another case of hitting the creative iceberg.
Sadly this is another misfire and there are a number of reasons for this but before I delve into those I will talk about what I did like and that is the music score by Michael Giacchino, the Production Design and the Visual Effects all of these make this a good big screen experience.
But as I said this was a misfire for me for these reasons:
- The first reason is that the script here is very muddled and at times I thought I was watching a bad Game of Thrones knockoff with all of its talk of duelling family members and deadly weddings and various other goings on plus there is the whole thing with the industry which didn't really make much sense and I felt had to go as all it did was muddy the storytelling river.
- The second is the casting, Kunis is a real bore to watch as most of the time she's either falling from great heights or screaming at the top of her lungs and I just got sick of her after a while, Tatum shows off his physical prowess but is pretty dull here (hopefully this won't be the case when he becomes Gambit) while Sean Bean does the jaded mentor role and Eddie Redmayne turns everything up to 18 on the OTT scale first by whispering his dialogue THEN SHOUTING SOME OF HIS LINES LIKE THIS!!!! and unlike Joel Edgerton's I AM THE GOD!!! from Exodus last year it isn't even worth a bad laugh.
- And lastly the climax is very cliched with the ticking clock and the exploding place and the race to freedom at the last minute and that as well as a fair chunk of the film just left me bored somewhat and checking my watch.
And so that was Jupiter Ascending sadly a Sci-Fi misfire from a creative team who really need to stop being given blank cheques at this point as they have increasingly failed to deliver and also sadly that with the exception of Neill Blomkamp's upcoming Chappie there may not be much Sci-Fi coming out before we all feel the force again with the new Star Wars film in December, 1 out of 5.
Film Review - Still Alice (2015)
Still Alice is the story of Alice (Julianne Moore) a Linguistics Professor at Columbia University with a Husband (Alec Baldwin) and 3 grown children (Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish) but Alice finds herself diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and her life slowly falling apart.
Still Alice for me was not a bad film but it just really felt like a TV Disease movie of the week, it just had that feel to it and now that I think about it part of me wonders why this is in a cinema as it doesn't really look that cinematic and for me I didn't really feel any strong emotional impact with this story, now I know that Alzheimer's is a horrible disease but here I just didn't really care all that much about it and when it was over I wasn't all that sad.
That being said however Moore is very good here as is Baldwin who I loved seeing again (Paramount made a FATAL FATAL! mistake letting him go as Jack Ryan after the Hunt for Red October) and Stewart was surprisingly effective if a little on the bland side, Bosworth doesn't really get a lot to do apart from drift in and out of the film and Parrish has only a few scenes here or there.
So Still Alice was not a bad film at all thanks to the performances but I didn't feel a lot of emotional impact nor did it feel cinematic, 2 out of 5.
Still Alice for me was not a bad film but it just really felt like a TV Disease movie of the week, it just had that feel to it and now that I think about it part of me wonders why this is in a cinema as it doesn't really look that cinematic and for me I didn't really feel any strong emotional impact with this story, now I know that Alzheimer's is a horrible disease but here I just didn't really care all that much about it and when it was over I wasn't all that sad.
That being said however Moore is very good here as is Baldwin who I loved seeing again (Paramount made a FATAL FATAL! mistake letting him go as Jack Ryan after the Hunt for Red October) and Stewart was surprisingly effective if a little on the bland side, Bosworth doesn't really get a lot to do apart from drift in and out of the film and Parrish has only a few scenes here or there.
So Still Alice was not a bad film at all thanks to the performances but I didn't feel a lot of emotional impact nor did it feel cinematic, 2 out of 5.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Film Review - Sin City A Dame to Kill For (2014)
The long delayed sequel for 2005's Sin City finally comes to screens and sees a range of stories brought to life, one concerns a Femme Fatale (Eva Green), the other a powerful US Senator (Powers Boothe) which also coincides with a young man good at cards (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and good old Marv (Mickey Rourke) being the glue that holds the town together.
Boy oh boy was this a disaster of a film at almost every level, how so you ask allow me to explain:
- First is the look of the film itself, the whole thing looks like a really cheap computer game with the black and white photography just has the feeling of being added later onto the colour footage of which you see splashes off during the film.
- The Second is that the performances are horrible, Green who is a beautiful woman and a wonderful actress is given nothing to do here save for a horrible American accent and walking around in the nude for most of her screen time, Jessica Alba's night club routine doesn't work this time as it looks desperate, Josh Brolin and Rourke just mumble and gruff their way through the film as does Bruce Willis and Boothe and Levitt are just wasted.
But I have another objection which the way the women are treated in this film, now I am reluctant for the most part to point this out in most films as I normally tend to let it slide if I'm enjoying the film but seeing virtually every single female character dressed in leather as well as half naked with their boobs showing in their outfits was very uncomfortable after a while.
- And lastly Frank Miller's script is terrible with most of the dialogue just sounding ridicolous when paired with the mumbling and grumbling and silly accents that are peppered throughout this film and the cameo with him and co-director Robert Rodriguez just made me cringe in a bad way.
So all in all the film looks cheap, the acting is terrible and the script is ridiculous, I wanted to like this I really did but I just cannot, 1 out of 5.
Boy oh boy was this a disaster of a film at almost every level, how so you ask allow me to explain:
- First is the look of the film itself, the whole thing looks like a really cheap computer game with the black and white photography just has the feeling of being added later onto the colour footage of which you see splashes off during the film.
- The Second is that the performances are horrible, Green who is a beautiful woman and a wonderful actress is given nothing to do here save for a horrible American accent and walking around in the nude for most of her screen time, Jessica Alba's night club routine doesn't work this time as it looks desperate, Josh Brolin and Rourke just mumble and gruff their way through the film as does Bruce Willis and Boothe and Levitt are just wasted.
But I have another objection which the way the women are treated in this film, now I am reluctant for the most part to point this out in most films as I normally tend to let it slide if I'm enjoying the film but seeing virtually every single female character dressed in leather as well as half naked with their boobs showing in their outfits was very uncomfortable after a while.
- And lastly Frank Miller's script is terrible with most of the dialogue just sounding ridicolous when paired with the mumbling and grumbling and silly accents that are peppered throughout this film and the cameo with him and co-director Robert Rodriguez just made me cringe in a bad way.
So all in all the film looks cheap, the acting is terrible and the script is ridiculous, I wanted to like this I really did but I just cannot, 1 out of 5.
Film Review - Before I Go to Sleep (2014)
Before I go to Sleep tells the tale of Christine (Nicole Kidman) a woman who has suffered a terrible accident that causes her memory to reset every morning she wakes up next to her husband Ben (Colin Firth) but with the help of Dr Nasch (Mark Strong) there could be much more buried under the surface.
Thinking about this film it was very hard for me to escape the memory of 1991's Shattered which was made by Wolfgang Petersen and starred Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins, Greta Scacchi and Joanne Walley and did this subject matter a whole lot better but before I delve more into that I will talk about what I did like and that was the principal three actors, all of them (even Kidman) were pretty good I thought especially Firth and Strong though it was hard not to think of Kingsman the Secret Service while watching them here.
But despite that I found this to be a pretty silly thriller as well as a fairly predictable one right down to the other person who promises to fill in the gaps as well as the one moment where everything comes together but all I could think of was "see I knew this would happen, regular as clockwork" and as a result I didn't really care about how the whole thing came together in the end.
So all in all Before I Go to Sleep can stay in Bed and Shattered was a far better film, 1.5 out of 5.
Thinking about this film it was very hard for me to escape the memory of 1991's Shattered which was made by Wolfgang Petersen and starred Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins, Greta Scacchi and Joanne Walley and did this subject matter a whole lot better but before I delve more into that I will talk about what I did like and that was the principal three actors, all of them (even Kidman) were pretty good I thought especially Firth and Strong though it was hard not to think of Kingsman the Secret Service while watching them here.
But despite that I found this to be a pretty silly thriller as well as a fairly predictable one right down to the other person who promises to fill in the gaps as well as the one moment where everything comes together but all I could think of was "see I knew this would happen, regular as clockwork" and as a result I didn't really care about how the whole thing came together in the end.
So all in all Before I Go to Sleep can stay in Bed and Shattered was a far better film, 1.5 out of 5.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Film Review - Soul Boys of the Western World (2014)
Soul Boys of the Western World is a documentary about the UK rock group Spandau Ballet and like the 2011 documentary Senna it consists entirely of acrhival footage with the band members narrating it as it details their rise and fall and later their reunion.
I thought this doco was GOLD (no pun intended) I really did and a lot of the reason for this is the use of the archive footage as like Senna it does a wonderful job of immersing the viewer in the period of the doco and there is a lot of time that goes through here as the years roll on and there are times where I just fell in love with what I was watching especially the footage of the 80s and the amazing fashions and hair and old TV shows and interview footage which also blends in the Britain of that time as well.
But the film does have a 20 minute slow point before that which I found to not be as interesting but once you get into the 80s setting of the doco the whole thing just opens up and becomes bright and colourful and the songs make you either want to tap your feet to them or start singing aloud (which I did when True and Gold came on.) and for a music doco to do both of those things is the sign of one that has hit its marks.
But what was also interesting to me was the climax and the look of the modern day footage felt like a nice juxtaposition to the archival footage and it for me marked a nice passage of time effect that made all of their success feel like a long time ago and I give director George Hendcken a lot of credit for his work here on the whole as he did a great job.
So all in all Soul Boys of the Western World was a great doco that I very highly recommend to music lovers as well as lovers of the 80s in general, 4 out of 5.
I thought this doco was GOLD (no pun intended) I really did and a lot of the reason for this is the use of the archive footage as like Senna it does a wonderful job of immersing the viewer in the period of the doco and there is a lot of time that goes through here as the years roll on and there are times where I just fell in love with what I was watching especially the footage of the 80s and the amazing fashions and hair and old TV shows and interview footage which also blends in the Britain of that time as well.
But the film does have a 20 minute slow point before that which I found to not be as interesting but once you get into the 80s setting of the doco the whole thing just opens up and becomes bright and colourful and the songs make you either want to tap your feet to them or start singing aloud (which I did when True and Gold came on.) and for a music doco to do both of those things is the sign of one that has hit its marks.
But what was also interesting to me was the climax and the look of the modern day footage felt like a nice juxtaposition to the archival footage and it for me marked a nice passage of time effect that made all of their success feel like a long time ago and I give director George Hendcken a lot of credit for his work here on the whole as he did a great job.
So all in all Soul Boys of the Western World was a great doco that I very highly recommend to music lovers as well as lovers of the 80s in general, 4 out of 5.
Film Review - 50 Shades of Grey (2015)
Based off of the successful bestselling novel, 50 Shades of Grey tells the story of Anna Steele (Dakota Johnson) who meets the mysterious and charismatic Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) while doing an interview for a student paper but Mr Grey is more than meets the eye.
Part of me was not that keen on seeing this film before deciding to do so primarily because I don't particularly mind those R18+ sex titles especially ones I've seen on the VHS tapes I collect (9 1/2 Weeks, Whore, Boxing Helena, Basic Instinct and Colour of Night to name a few) so as a result of that (please note that I'll like these films if they're well made) I did get turned around to seeing this film, could it deliver though?
Well no it couldn't as this was for me the most uncomfortable cinema experience I've had since seeing Kick Ass 2 in 2013 and by that I mean that I just did not enjoy what I was watching very much at all but before I get into that I will talk about what I did like and that was Johnson who is a very warm and engaging screen presence but at times she appears out of her depth in this role and I hate to say it cause she really does try her best but in the end she is miscast and someone like Jennifer Lawrence and Margot Robbie would've been better suited for this role instead but I highly doubt they would've done it if asked.
As for the film around her well it doesn't work for these reasons:
- The first is Dornan as Mr Grey, quite frankly Dornan is very stiff in this role and some of his scenes just border on ridiculous given the dialogue he's asked to say, I know he was a replacement for Charlie Hunnam who left this role but he just isn't sexy or charismatic much in this role.
But as for his character well for the most part this is the sort of man that women tend to fall in love with (and you hear a couple of people say how hot he is in one scene of the film) and that these handsome and charismatic types who say all the right things and make all the right moves on women and because of those traits they fall madly in love with them only to have it go horribly wrong because of the man cleverly hiding their dark side.
Now I know for sure that this isn't always the case but I couldn't help but think of this when coming out of the film.
- The second is that the sex scenes are boring to watch because of their near complete lack of sexiness, it more resembles torture and seeing Johnson go through this made me feel very uncomfortable after a while and again I know this was the key appeal of this story and the book series its based on but I wish director Sam Johnson who overall does the best job she can with this material had found a way to tone down the discomfort.
And so that was 50 Shades of Grey a film that I just cannot recommend at all to anyone, go and see Kingsman the Secret Service instead, .5 out of 5.
Part of me was not that keen on seeing this film before deciding to do so primarily because I don't particularly mind those R18+ sex titles especially ones I've seen on the VHS tapes I collect (9 1/2 Weeks, Whore, Boxing Helena, Basic Instinct and Colour of Night to name a few) so as a result of that (please note that I'll like these films if they're well made) I did get turned around to seeing this film, could it deliver though?
Well no it couldn't as this was for me the most uncomfortable cinema experience I've had since seeing Kick Ass 2 in 2013 and by that I mean that I just did not enjoy what I was watching very much at all but before I get into that I will talk about what I did like and that was Johnson who is a very warm and engaging screen presence but at times she appears out of her depth in this role and I hate to say it cause she really does try her best but in the end she is miscast and someone like Jennifer Lawrence and Margot Robbie would've been better suited for this role instead but I highly doubt they would've done it if asked.
As for the film around her well it doesn't work for these reasons:
- The first is Dornan as Mr Grey, quite frankly Dornan is very stiff in this role and some of his scenes just border on ridiculous given the dialogue he's asked to say, I know he was a replacement for Charlie Hunnam who left this role but he just isn't sexy or charismatic much in this role.
But as for his character well for the most part this is the sort of man that women tend to fall in love with (and you hear a couple of people say how hot he is in one scene of the film) and that these handsome and charismatic types who say all the right things and make all the right moves on women and because of those traits they fall madly in love with them only to have it go horribly wrong because of the man cleverly hiding their dark side.
Now I know for sure that this isn't always the case but I couldn't help but think of this when coming out of the film.
- The second is that the sex scenes are boring to watch because of their near complete lack of sexiness, it more resembles torture and seeing Johnson go through this made me feel very uncomfortable after a while and again I know this was the key appeal of this story and the book series its based on but I wish director Sam Johnson who overall does the best job she can with this material had found a way to tone down the discomfort.
And so that was 50 Shades of Grey a film that I just cannot recommend at all to anyone, go and see Kingsman the Secret Service instead, .5 out of 5.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Film Review - Mud (2013)
Mud is written and directed by Jeff Nichols and stars Matthew McConaghey as Mud, a man stranded on an island in America, one day he meets two young boys Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) who offer to help him get to his love Juniper (Reese Witherspoon) but the men whose son Mud killed want revenge.
I liked this film, I thought it was a good little drama with some great performances at its heart, McConaughey is very good here despite only being a supporting role in the film, Witherspoon is serviceable in her role and I also liked seeing Sam Shepard, Joe Don Baker and Michael Shannon in their small roles.
But to me the real heart of this film is Sheridan and the reason I want to single him out (well a key reason) is that this young man is going to be the young Scott Summers aka Cyclops in X-Men Apocalypse next year and I have to say not only is he very good here but it gave me a lot of confidence that he will do Cyclops justice as he has the right physical presence plus the sense of right and wrong as well as a natural leadership instinct and I really hope Bryan Singer can bring that out in him in the same way Nichols has used him very well also.
And so that was Mud, a good little drama with great performances, 3 out of 5.
I liked this film, I thought it was a good little drama with some great performances at its heart, McConaughey is very good here despite only being a supporting role in the film, Witherspoon is serviceable in her role and I also liked seeing Sam Shepard, Joe Don Baker and Michael Shannon in their small roles.
But to me the real heart of this film is Sheridan and the reason I want to single him out (well a key reason) is that this young man is going to be the young Scott Summers aka Cyclops in X-Men Apocalypse next year and I have to say not only is he very good here but it gave me a lot of confidence that he will do Cyclops justice as he has the right physical presence plus the sense of right and wrong as well as a natural leadership instinct and I really hope Bryan Singer can bring that out in him in the same way Nichols has used him very well also.
And so that was Mud, a good little drama with great performances, 3 out of 5.
Film Review - Romper Stomper (1992)
Romper Stomper was directed by Geoffrey Wright and stars Russell Crowe as Hando the leader of a group of Melbourne Skinheads who beat up on Asians but one beating goes wrong and they find themselves on the run and with a girl (Jacqueline McKenzie) in their midst.
Romper Stomper is a very dark film for sure but this darkness is announced right from the first scene in the film and for me I found it to be an utterly compelling and borderline fantastic watch, Wright wastes no time at all in both setting the style and mood and tone (huge credit should be given to John Clifford White for the score as that theme music is sensational) as well as using every moment of his 92 minute running time, not once did I think this film was too long or boring.
Also worth noting is the performances, Crowe is fantastic here and utterly compelling in the lead role, McKenzie is also very good here (the two would also share screen time together in the Water Diviner which Crowe also directed) and I also loved the overall look of the film with its dirty, grungy streets and deep blues, cinematographer Ron Hagen did a great job here.
And so that was Romper Stomper, a great film but not for the faint hearted, hard to believe Wright would drop the ball so badly after showing such promise 3 years later with Metal Skin, 4 out of 5.
Romper Stomper is a very dark film for sure but this darkness is announced right from the first scene in the film and for me I found it to be an utterly compelling and borderline fantastic watch, Wright wastes no time at all in both setting the style and mood and tone (huge credit should be given to John Clifford White for the score as that theme music is sensational) as well as using every moment of his 92 minute running time, not once did I think this film was too long or boring.
Also worth noting is the performances, Crowe is fantastic here and utterly compelling in the lead role, McKenzie is also very good here (the two would also share screen time together in the Water Diviner which Crowe also directed) and I also loved the overall look of the film with its dirty, grungy streets and deep blues, cinematographer Ron Hagen did a great job here.
And so that was Romper Stomper, a great film but not for the faint hearted, hard to believe Wright would drop the ball so badly after showing such promise 3 years later with Metal Skin, 4 out of 5.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Film Review - Kingsman the Secret Service (2015)
Kingsman the Secret Service is based off of a spy comic by Mark Millar and is directed by Matthew Vaughn who made the first Kick Ass film as well as X-Men First Class and here the story is Colin Firth plays an Agent of the Kingsman Secret Service who has to fight the deadly Valentine (Samuel L Jackson) from conquering the world.
Man oh man was this film so much fun and I am ever glad Vaughn decided to do this film instead of Days of Future Past as here he feels right at home as this film is exciting, action packed, funny, satirical as well as a little emotional here, Firth makes for a very dashing spy hero and newcomer Taron Edgerton is very good here as Eggsy.
But they're not all, Mark Strong, Michael Caine, Mark Hamill and Sofia Boutella are also excellent and Jackson was pretty good here as well despite the lisp, the action scenes here are incredibly well handled and the film is also very funny and there were a couple of times where I laughed out loud plus I loved its cine literature moments and overall British feel combining the old and the new.
Overall folks this is an extremely strong action picture and for me is going to be hard to top with the other big ones coming this year but I hope they're up to the task, 5 out of 5.
Man oh man was this film so much fun and I am ever glad Vaughn decided to do this film instead of Days of Future Past as here he feels right at home as this film is exciting, action packed, funny, satirical as well as a little emotional here, Firth makes for a very dashing spy hero and newcomer Taron Edgerton is very good here as Eggsy.
But they're not all, Mark Strong, Michael Caine, Mark Hamill and Sofia Boutella are also excellent and Jackson was pretty good here as well despite the lisp, the action scenes here are incredibly well handled and the film is also very funny and there were a couple of times where I laughed out loud plus I loved its cine literature moments and overall British feel combining the old and the new.
Overall folks this is an extremely strong action picture and for me is going to be hard to top with the other big ones coming this year but I hope they're up to the task, 5 out of 5.
Film Review - Birdman (2015)
Birdman stars Michael Keaton as Actor Riggan Thompson who once played the iconic superhero Birdman but gave it all away and now is trying to open a play on Broadway, a play that could make or break his career.
I liked Birdman I will say and I especially like how the film resembles a filmed Broadway show and director Alejandro Inarritu as well as his cinematographer Emmanuelle Lubezki and his Editors Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione do a terrific job at making the whole thing feel like one seamless take and one big stage experience like on a Broadway show, it's pretty impressive to watch.
I also thought the performances overall were pretty good, Keaton pretty much plays himself here given that he chose to walk away from Batman Forever after meeting with Joel Schumacher and not liking the lighter tone he had in mind for the character (his decision would be vindicated when Batman and Robin crashed and burned in 1997) but he is very good here though Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Andrea Riseborough and Amy Ryan are all wonderful Stone in particular is really good and has a wonderful screen presence and it's nice to see her performance rewarded with an Oscar nod.
I do have to say however that I don't think this packs the punch in regards to satirising Hollywood that I got from 1992's The Player directed by Robert Altman which I thought really took aim at the culture in Hollywood as well as being an amusing film in its own right and like Keaton with this role you could see Altman taking aim at the culture that forced him into exile after Popeye crashed and burned in 1980 but here it all feels very much on the sidelines whereas I wish it was more central to the story.
But given that minor flaw as a passionate movie person I did like Birdman but that would be the only crowd I would only recommend the film too, 3 out of 5.
I liked Birdman I will say and I especially like how the film resembles a filmed Broadway show and director Alejandro Inarritu as well as his cinematographer Emmanuelle Lubezki and his Editors Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione do a terrific job at making the whole thing feel like one seamless take and one big stage experience like on a Broadway show, it's pretty impressive to watch.
I also thought the performances overall were pretty good, Keaton pretty much plays himself here given that he chose to walk away from Batman Forever after meeting with Joel Schumacher and not liking the lighter tone he had in mind for the character (his decision would be vindicated when Batman and Robin crashed and burned in 1997) but he is very good here though Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Andrea Riseborough and Amy Ryan are all wonderful Stone in particular is really good and has a wonderful screen presence and it's nice to see her performance rewarded with an Oscar nod.
I do have to say however that I don't think this packs the punch in regards to satirising Hollywood that I got from 1992's The Player directed by Robert Altman which I thought really took aim at the culture in Hollywood as well as being an amusing film in its own right and like Keaton with this role you could see Altman taking aim at the culture that forced him into exile after Popeye crashed and burned in 1980 but here it all feels very much on the sidelines whereas I wish it was more central to the story.
But given that minor flaw as a passionate movie person I did like Birdman but that would be the only crowd I would only recommend the film too, 3 out of 5.
Film Review - Mortdecai (2015)
Mortdecai is based off of a book series and stars Johnny Depp as Mortdecai an Arts dealer, Gwyneth Paltrow as his wife, Ewan McGregor as the police chief and Jeff Goldblum and Olivia Munn as a father daughter duo of rival dealers as each of them race around the world trying to find a precious painting.
Wow, this was a complete and utter train wreck to sit through from start to finish as nothing in it works in any way at all:
- First of all the comedy is not funny, you very quickly tire of that excruciating accent Depp puts on as well as the endless jokes about his moustache, the police chief and the bumbling around which just goes on and on and on and is so poorly handled by director David Koepp that his overall judgment in the chair has to be called into question.
- Secondly the performances all around are just horrible bar one exception and that is Paul Bettany who effectively spoofs the Jason Statham action hero and does it very well but sadly his character is effectively left on the leash for the entire film and you just sit there waiting for him to be cut loose and end the film in an hour but everyone else around him just drops the ball into the quicksand, Depp as I said becomes increasingly annoying, Paltrow is little better, McGregor does a very poor imitation of Chief Quimby from Inspector Gadget and Goldblum and Munn get little if anything to do.
- And lastly none of it story wise really holds together or has any coherence to it and you again sit there being totally lost and thinking "what is going on here, none of this is making any sense." and for a silly comedy like this one it isn't good enough.
Mortdecai sadly is very much what a new live action Inspector Gadget reboot could look like in the wrong hands and its only a pity Dr. Claw and his MAD Agents weren't here to save this film as its a disaster from every angle, 0 out of 5.
Wow, this was a complete and utter train wreck to sit through from start to finish as nothing in it works in any way at all:
- First of all the comedy is not funny, you very quickly tire of that excruciating accent Depp puts on as well as the endless jokes about his moustache, the police chief and the bumbling around which just goes on and on and on and is so poorly handled by director David Koepp that his overall judgment in the chair has to be called into question.
- Secondly the performances all around are just horrible bar one exception and that is Paul Bettany who effectively spoofs the Jason Statham action hero and does it very well but sadly his character is effectively left on the leash for the entire film and you just sit there waiting for him to be cut loose and end the film in an hour but everyone else around him just drops the ball into the quicksand, Depp as I said becomes increasingly annoying, Paltrow is little better, McGregor does a very poor imitation of Chief Quimby from Inspector Gadget and Goldblum and Munn get little if anything to do.
- And lastly none of it story wise really holds together or has any coherence to it and you again sit there being totally lost and thinking "what is going on here, none of this is making any sense." and for a silly comedy like this one it isn't good enough.
Mortdecai sadly is very much what a new live action Inspector Gadget reboot could look like in the wrong hands and its only a pity Dr. Claw and his MAD Agents weren't here to save this film as its a disaster from every angle, 0 out of 5.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
On the Air Series 2 Episode 1: Once More Unto the Airwaves
Well here we are again,
Here is the audio from my 1st Radio show for 2015 where I talked about:
- Taken 3
- Unbroken
- The Hobbit the Battle of the Five Armies
- The Imitation Game
- Top 5 Most Anticipated for 2015
So quite a bit is covered here, to listen to the show click on the streaming option in your browser or click on Download Audio where it should come up in full screen.
Or you can right click on Download Audio and save it to your Computer.
Link is here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2015/02/friday-flicks-best-of-the-school-holidays-and-2015-releases.html
Here is the audio from my 1st Radio show for 2015 where I talked about:
- Taken 3
- Unbroken
- The Hobbit the Battle of the Five Armies
- The Imitation Game
- Top 5 Most Anticipated for 2015
So quite a bit is covered here, to listen to the show click on the streaming option in your browser or click on Download Audio where it should come up in full screen.
Or you can right click on Download Audio and save it to your Computer.
Link is here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2015/02/friday-flicks-best-of-the-school-holidays-and-2015-releases.html
Monday, February 2, 2015
Film Review - Into the Woods (2015)
Into the Woods is based off the hit broadway musical and this film version stars Emily Blunt and James Corden as a Baker's couple who want a child but the house is cursed by a witch (Meryl Streep) but to lift the curse they must find a Red Cape, a Golden Slipper, Golden Hair and a White Cow.
Hmmmm.
Look this movie is far from terrible but it is also very very average but before I delve into that I will delve now into what I did like and that is primarily some of the cast, there is a big cast here but they don't all hit their marks but the ones that did I felt were Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine ("Jack Ryan" failing wasn't your fault) and Blunt, all three of them are very good here and do the best they can with the material given to them.
Which leads me to my main problem with this film: All of it feels so very average and the reason that is the case is that the songs and the story never feel part of a cohesive whole which is utterly vital for a musical to succeed, the singing feels very auto tuned for the most part and the songs themselves either come one after the other or just pop up out of nowhere and I just didn't really care about any of them.
And the other cast members who don't hit their marks didn't help things either, Corden just comes across as a very poor substitute for Martin Freeman (who should've been considered for his role), Streep just turns everything up to 15 on the OTT scale and Johnny Depp in his cameo role just made me think "Here we go again, AGAIN."
And so that was Into the Woods a very average musical that is not worth your time, rent Little Shop of Horrors instead, 1 out of 5.
Hmmmm.
Look this movie is far from terrible but it is also very very average but before I delve into that I will delve now into what I did like and that is primarily some of the cast, there is a big cast here but they don't all hit their marks but the ones that did I felt were Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine ("Jack Ryan" failing wasn't your fault) and Blunt, all three of them are very good here and do the best they can with the material given to them.
Which leads me to my main problem with this film: All of it feels so very average and the reason that is the case is that the songs and the story never feel part of a cohesive whole which is utterly vital for a musical to succeed, the singing feels very auto tuned for the most part and the songs themselves either come one after the other or just pop up out of nowhere and I just didn't really care about any of them.
And the other cast members who don't hit their marks didn't help things either, Corden just comes across as a very poor substitute for Martin Freeman (who should've been considered for his role), Streep just turns everything up to 15 on the OTT scale and Johnny Depp in his cameo role just made me think "Here we go again, AGAIN."
And so that was Into the Woods a very average musical that is not worth your time, rent Little Shop of Horrors instead, 1 out of 5.
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