GOOOOOD MORNING GALAXY!
That is the title I have given my 2nd Radio show which I pre recorded last week and went to air on ABC South East SA last Friday.
In it I talked about:
- Remembering Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall
- And So it Goes
- Lucy
- Guardians of the Galaxy
As with the 1st episode to listen to it right click on it and Save to your Computer, enjoy.
http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2014/08/friday-flicks-with-simon-waite.html?site=southeastsa&program=south_east_mornings
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Friday, August 15, 2014
Film Review - Expendables 3 (2014)
Expendables 3 is the third film in the series and again stars Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross and this time he comes up against an old enemy named Stonebanks (Mel Gibson) who may well be the deadliest enemy the Expendables come across as well as their most personal.
I have to confess sitting in the Comfy Chair that I was kind of looking forward to this movie primarily because I like the old school 1980s Action film probably more than I do the Superhero stuff we've gotten a lot of recently and also the addition of Gibson to the cast as I always like seeing him on screen despite his off screen problems in recent years, did this one shoot its way to victory or die fighting the good fight?
Well to be honest I thought the film was pretty average, don't get me wrong it's not horrible by any means of the imagination but nor is it that great burst of old school Action filmmaking that the first Taken with Liam Neeson was or the 2012 Judge Dredd reboot with Karl Urban both films I think recall that era a lot better than this series does and this one returns to the style and tone of the first film which is more Stallone driven than the second film which had a very fast moving plot and a terrific climax whereas here like in the first film there are a fair few slow parts and the action climax isn't very exciting and runs on a little too long.
Another problem this film has is its villain and despite Gibson's absolute best efforts and he looks in great shape for the role which prompted the natural question "Why did you turn down Mad Max 4?" he doesn't really get an awful lot to do here apart from smile and scheme and punch and kick and frankly another action star could've easily filled his boots in that role, Harrison Ford also gets very little to do when he like Gibson should've been a very exciting addition to this series.
And thinking about that makes me sad somewhat as rumours have surfaced that the Highlander himself Christopher Lambert may be joining this series in a future instalment and I can only hope and pray that he gets a meaty role as Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod deserves nothing less.
Probably the best new additions to the series and about this film are Wesley Snipes and Antonio Banderas, Snipes gets the bulk of the laughs here and shows that his time in Jail for Tax Avoision (Avoision it's a crime look it up) has kept him in good shape while Banderas looks terrific, really lean and mean and both of them I thought were the best thing about this film.
So sad to say, Expendables 3 is very average watching and for me it's hard to recommend it, go and see Guardians of the Galaxy instead, 2 out of 5.
I have to confess sitting in the Comfy Chair that I was kind of looking forward to this movie primarily because I like the old school 1980s Action film probably more than I do the Superhero stuff we've gotten a lot of recently and also the addition of Gibson to the cast as I always like seeing him on screen despite his off screen problems in recent years, did this one shoot its way to victory or die fighting the good fight?
Well to be honest I thought the film was pretty average, don't get me wrong it's not horrible by any means of the imagination but nor is it that great burst of old school Action filmmaking that the first Taken with Liam Neeson was or the 2012 Judge Dredd reboot with Karl Urban both films I think recall that era a lot better than this series does and this one returns to the style and tone of the first film which is more Stallone driven than the second film which had a very fast moving plot and a terrific climax whereas here like in the first film there are a fair few slow parts and the action climax isn't very exciting and runs on a little too long.
Another problem this film has is its villain and despite Gibson's absolute best efforts and he looks in great shape for the role which prompted the natural question "Why did you turn down Mad Max 4?" he doesn't really get an awful lot to do here apart from smile and scheme and punch and kick and frankly another action star could've easily filled his boots in that role, Harrison Ford also gets very little to do when he like Gibson should've been a very exciting addition to this series.
And thinking about that makes me sad somewhat as rumours have surfaced that the Highlander himself Christopher Lambert may be joining this series in a future instalment and I can only hope and pray that he gets a meaty role as Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod deserves nothing less.
Probably the best new additions to the series and about this film are Wesley Snipes and Antonio Banderas, Snipes gets the bulk of the laughs here and shows that his time in Jail for Tax Avoision (Avoision it's a crime look it up) has kept him in good shape while Banderas looks terrific, really lean and mean and both of them I thought were the best thing about this film.
So sad to say, Expendables 3 is very average watching and for me it's hard to recommend it, go and see Guardians of the Galaxy instead, 2 out of 5.
Monday, August 11, 2014
O Captain Our Captain: Remembering Robin Williams
When I woke up this morning to check the usual headlines that I do each day, some very very sad news was among them and that was the sad news of the passing of Robin Williams.
And it was certainly news that made me sad as I had always enjoyed seeing him in a movie over the years even if the film itself wasn't that great and one of my favorite roles of his was as Professor John Keating in Peter Weir's wonderful film Dead Poets Society, a role that proved he had a great knack for doing dramatic roles as well as doing comedy and that end scene just well it's hard to not to feel emotional while you're watching it.
But my favorite role of his if I had to pick one would have to be as the Genie of the Lamp in Aladdin, a role that really suited his fast paced comic vocals very well and in some ways helped to change the face of famous actors doing voice over work in animated movies afterwards.
Aladdin also was a very formative movie experience for me as a child and I can still remember the first time I saw it as if it was a video waiting to be put in the machine, it was an afternoon for sure and my class was gathered in the local Library as one of the other kids had brought in Aladdin for us all to watch (sorry but no names) and I was hooked right then and there with its comic energy, great songs (the two Genie songs were performed by Robin himself sometimes after a long day filming Hook for Steven Spielberg where he was on wires) and terrific characters, one of those being Robin's Genie.
I feel like I don't have a lot more to say after that so I'll finish up by saying that Robin Williams was a terrific comic and dramatic talent and the film going world as well as those in it just won't feel as fun or exciting without him, may he Rest in Peace.
And it was certainly news that made me sad as I had always enjoyed seeing him in a movie over the years even if the film itself wasn't that great and one of my favorite roles of his was as Professor John Keating in Peter Weir's wonderful film Dead Poets Society, a role that proved he had a great knack for doing dramatic roles as well as doing comedy and that end scene just well it's hard to not to feel emotional while you're watching it.
But my favorite role of his if I had to pick one would have to be as the Genie of the Lamp in Aladdin, a role that really suited his fast paced comic vocals very well and in some ways helped to change the face of famous actors doing voice over work in animated movies afterwards.
Aladdin also was a very formative movie experience for me as a child and I can still remember the first time I saw it as if it was a video waiting to be put in the machine, it was an afternoon for sure and my class was gathered in the local Library as one of the other kids had brought in Aladdin for us all to watch (sorry but no names) and I was hooked right then and there with its comic energy, great songs (the two Genie songs were performed by Robin himself sometimes after a long day filming Hook for Steven Spielberg where he was on wires) and terrific characters, one of those being Robin's Genie.
I feel like I don't have a lot more to say after that so I'll finish up by saying that Robin Williams was a terrific comic and dramatic talent and the film going world as well as those in it just won't feel as fun or exciting without him, may he Rest in Peace.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Film Review - Lucy (2014)
Lucy is the new action film from Luc Besson and this time he's donning both the writing and directing Hats and this one stars Scarlett Johansson as Lucy who gets caught up in a Chinese Drug Ring and a packet of CPH4 in her stomach in order to transport it, meanwhile a Doctor played by Morgan Freeman believes that humans can only 10% of their full brain potential and with the right kick, could reach 100%.
Lucy for me was okay, I liked it on the whole but the more I've thought about it the more unmemorable I find it to be, Johansson does her usual bottom kicking routine she does as the Black Widow but I didn't find it as enjoyable as seeing Liam Neeson kicking everyone's bottom in Paris in the first Taken mainly because that wasn't expected when we first saw it and Freeman does his usual fine job though I did think of him doing Vituvrius from the Lego Movie at times.
The film also has some interesting ideas about a person's brain potential but the 3rd act takes that and makes it as preposterous as the recent Johnny Deep film Transcendence and I was reminded of that film when this one was over and not in good way.
So all in all Lucy is okay but nothing special and is worth a cheap ticket Tuesday matinee, 2 out of 5.
Lucy for me was okay, I liked it on the whole but the more I've thought about it the more unmemorable I find it to be, Johansson does her usual bottom kicking routine she does as the Black Widow but I didn't find it as enjoyable as seeing Liam Neeson kicking everyone's bottom in Paris in the first Taken mainly because that wasn't expected when we first saw it and Freeman does his usual fine job though I did think of him doing Vituvrius from the Lego Movie at times.
The film also has some interesting ideas about a person's brain potential but the 3rd act takes that and makes it as preposterous as the recent Johnny Deep film Transcendence and I was reminded of that film when this one was over and not in good way.
So all in all Lucy is okay but nothing special and is worth a cheap ticket Tuesday matinee, 2 out of 5.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Film Review - And So it Goes (2014)
And So it Goes is the newest film by that Fucking Rob Reiner who was recently seen in the Wolf of Wall Street and stars Michael Douglas as Oren Little, a Real Estate agent who is disliked for his bad temper towards everyone he comes across but one day is asked to take care of his grand daughter Sarah (Sterling Jerins) while his Son serves a prison sentence though he'll need some help in the form of Leah (Diane Keaton) to do it.
Part of me was not looking forward to seeing this film mainly because I didn't know an awful lot about it beforehand other than that Reiner was directing it and he'd made what would have to be one of my top 10 favorite movies in When Harry Met Sally which is just wonderful on so many levels.
But sadly this movie is not in that great league and is also in its own right not that memorable either, don't get me wrong it's a perfectly functional film but you'll pretty much forget all about it a few hours after you've seen it as it's a very traditional story of the hard hearted man with the heart of gold underneath who'll always come through, Ugh Fucking Hell Reiner you fucking made When Harry met Sally how the fuck did you fall so far from grace, FUCKING HELL!!!!!.
And also I really had a hard time buying Diane Keaton in her role as a down and out wannabe Lounge Singer when the womans never been uncool in her life even when she's worn silly Outfits to award shows over the years most people would probably go "It's Diane Keaton so I'll forgive her" and second of all she looks really good for her age so yeah I found her hard to buy in that role.
And so it goes on this day that this film is fairly forgettable and frankly is not worth seeing, rent When Harry Met Sally instead, how the fuck could Rob fucking Reiner get it so fucking wrong, 1 out of 5.
Part of me was not looking forward to seeing this film mainly because I didn't know an awful lot about it beforehand other than that Reiner was directing it and he'd made what would have to be one of my top 10 favorite movies in When Harry Met Sally which is just wonderful on so many levels.
But sadly this movie is not in that great league and is also in its own right not that memorable either, don't get me wrong it's a perfectly functional film but you'll pretty much forget all about it a few hours after you've seen it as it's a very traditional story of the hard hearted man with the heart of gold underneath who'll always come through, Ugh Fucking Hell Reiner you fucking made When Harry met Sally how the fuck did you fall so far from grace, FUCKING HELL!!!!!.
And also I really had a hard time buying Diane Keaton in her role as a down and out wannabe Lounge Singer when the womans never been uncool in her life even when she's worn silly Outfits to award shows over the years most people would probably go "It's Diane Keaton so I'll forgive her" and second of all she looks really good for her age so yeah I found her hard to buy in that role.
And so it goes on this day that this film is fairly forgettable and frankly is not worth seeing, rent When Harry Met Sally instead, how the fuck could Rob fucking Reiner get it so fucking wrong, 1 out of 5.
Film Review - Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
The newest film from Marvel Studios, Guardians of the Galaxy is the story of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt, Emmet from the Lego Movie) who as a child is abducted into the far reaches of space and makes his living as a collector of relics, one of which is an Orb that is said to contain great power.
I was really really excited for this film going into it as I'm a great fan of Science Fiction and to see a new big budget one on the big screen again was for me just so exciting as there haven't been many these last few years and now at last the time had come for me to take my seat in the cinema and let the film play out in front of me, did it Hook me with Positive Feelings or was it sour Cherry Bomb that had a dissapointing after taste?
Happily so I was hooked on positive feelings all the way through and high on believing in that this was a really fun movie experience, I loved so much the Sci-Fi setting the film takes place in with its many distant stars and strange new worlds that just made me smile so much and there were even SPACE BATTLES!! Halle Fucking Lujah I never thought I'd see a proper space battle with Fighters manevouring and firing Lasers at each other just like in Return of the Jedi and I did say to myself "Take evasive action" and "All fighters, commence attack" as well as "Accelerate to attack speed, draw their fire away from the Cruisers"
The film also has some very good central performances by Pratt who is fast making a name for himself as a loveable leading man but he's also backed up very well by Zoe Saldana as the female lead and like in Avatar equips herself very well here and both Bradley Cooper (who is giving the kind of performance Bill Murray gave in his Prime, I never thought that would happen) and Vin Diesel are great comic relief though Dave Butistka is the weakest of the group.
And lastly I also really loved the soundtrack for this film, full of great 70s and 80s Pop Hits like Hooked on a Feeling, Cherry Bomb and I'm Not in Love and it was a soundtrack that I have not been able to shake from my mind and that can only be a good thing.
But alas there are a couple of very very minor quibbles I have with this film:
- The first is that the chief Villain Ronan is not that great and just comes across as the chief Brute henchman that's been promoted from Number 2 to Number 1 and it's not a very good choice as he just can't escape his Brute Henchman origins with the deep voice and big muscles, a much better choice I think would've been to have the other Sister to Saldana's character as the chief villain for this film as that character interested me very much but was sadly underused.
And like with Shane Black and his Iron Man 3 last year, this is not the fault of director James Gunn but rather a fault of the source, a claim I make at a lot of superhero movies as a strong villain is essential to the success of these films and many fall short in this regard.
- The second is that the climactic third act does run a little bit too long and could've used a few minutes shaved off it in the editing room as part of me did sit there and think "Okay can we get to the big bad guy now" which is a shame given how good the rest of the film is.
- And lastly the end credits scene is a joke, I sat and waited for it as some do (though most of the crowd I saw it with didn't) and when it was over I thought "That's it, what a ripoff" especially given the end credits scene in X-Men Days of Future Past was terrific and did its job right.
But to wrap this all up I have to mention the 3D for this movie as I saw it in both formats and frankly the 3D is terrible as it makes everything look so smegging Dark and it made my eyes sore and gave me a headache, the sooner we can do away with this useless format the happier cinema audiences will be as the 3D session I went to had okay numbers but the 2D one was almost full and doesn't that tell you something.
So all in all, Guardians of the Galaxy is a rollicking good time at the movies despite those minor quibbles and I absolutely recommend it without hesitation, 4 and a half out of 5.
I was really really excited for this film going into it as I'm a great fan of Science Fiction and to see a new big budget one on the big screen again was for me just so exciting as there haven't been many these last few years and now at last the time had come for me to take my seat in the cinema and let the film play out in front of me, did it Hook me with Positive Feelings or was it sour Cherry Bomb that had a dissapointing after taste?
Happily so I was hooked on positive feelings all the way through and high on believing in that this was a really fun movie experience, I loved so much the Sci-Fi setting the film takes place in with its many distant stars and strange new worlds that just made me smile so much and there were even SPACE BATTLES!! Halle Fucking Lujah I never thought I'd see a proper space battle with Fighters manevouring and firing Lasers at each other just like in Return of the Jedi and I did say to myself "Take evasive action" and "All fighters, commence attack" as well as "Accelerate to attack speed, draw their fire away from the Cruisers"
The film also has some very good central performances by Pratt who is fast making a name for himself as a loveable leading man but he's also backed up very well by Zoe Saldana as the female lead and like in Avatar equips herself very well here and both Bradley Cooper (who is giving the kind of performance Bill Murray gave in his Prime, I never thought that would happen) and Vin Diesel are great comic relief though Dave Butistka is the weakest of the group.
And lastly I also really loved the soundtrack for this film, full of great 70s and 80s Pop Hits like Hooked on a Feeling, Cherry Bomb and I'm Not in Love and it was a soundtrack that I have not been able to shake from my mind and that can only be a good thing.
But alas there are a couple of very very minor quibbles I have with this film:
- The first is that the chief Villain Ronan is not that great and just comes across as the chief Brute henchman that's been promoted from Number 2 to Number 1 and it's not a very good choice as he just can't escape his Brute Henchman origins with the deep voice and big muscles, a much better choice I think would've been to have the other Sister to Saldana's character as the chief villain for this film as that character interested me very much but was sadly underused.
And like with Shane Black and his Iron Man 3 last year, this is not the fault of director James Gunn but rather a fault of the source, a claim I make at a lot of superhero movies as a strong villain is essential to the success of these films and many fall short in this regard.
- The second is that the climactic third act does run a little bit too long and could've used a few minutes shaved off it in the editing room as part of me did sit there and think "Okay can we get to the big bad guy now" which is a shame given how good the rest of the film is.
- And lastly the end credits scene is a joke, I sat and waited for it as some do (though most of the crowd I saw it with didn't) and when it was over I thought "That's it, what a ripoff" especially given the end credits scene in X-Men Days of Future Past was terrific and did its job right.
But to wrap this all up I have to mention the 3D for this movie as I saw it in both formats and frankly the 3D is terrible as it makes everything look so smegging Dark and it made my eyes sore and gave me a headache, the sooner we can do away with this useless format the happier cinema audiences will be as the 3D session I went to had okay numbers but the 2D one was almost full and doesn't that tell you something.
So all in all, Guardians of the Galaxy is a rollicking good time at the movies despite those minor quibbles and I absolutely recommend it without hesitation, 4 and a half out of 5.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
The Man We Called Max: Fury Road Comic Con Footage
After 30 years away from cinema screens, George Miller's Mad Max franchise is finally revving up the engines and coming back to cinemas next year with the long delayed and long anticipated 4th installment titled Fury Road.
And the film also went to the San Diego Comic Con over the weekend and the footage shown from that panel event was later made available around the world to watch and being the Mad Max fan I am (the first two films in the series are the only films I've seen that have given the Star Wars Trilogy a run for their money on my favorite films list) I was keen to check this footage out.
But sad to say the footage left a very mixed taste in my mouth after it was over and the reasons are numbered below:
- The first and biggest reason is that the tone of it reminded me a lot of the comic book feel of the third Mad Max film Beyond Thunderdome and the hard hitting Car Stunts of Mad Max 2 (NOT THE ROAD WARRIOR!!!!) and for me I didn't think this was a good thing as I did not like Thunderdome for that reason the comic book/Indiana Jones tone really put me off especially given the hard hitting fast driving Australian feel the first two films had and worked very well whereas here the mix of the two put me off.
- The second is sadly Tom Hardy himself, Hardy inherited the role when Mel Gibson walked away from the film (Gibson and Miller were going to make the film together back in 2003 before the Iraq War broke out and the US Dollar crashed against the Australian dollar) and when he opens his mouth and says "My Name is Max" the British tone of voice really grated with me and I kept thinking afterwards "Why couldn't an Australian actor like Jason Clarke or Joel Edgerton have taken over this role" but given the increasing reliance on the International Box Office these days I doubt Warner Brothers or Village Roadshow would've gone with that idea.
Even though to continue on this part THEY DAMN WELL SHOULD HAVE!! as this is an Australian film franchise and that's who this role should've gone to in Gibson's absence and yes I did miss him as well after hearing Hardy's voice in the footage.
Now I know that it is very hard to judge what the film will be like based off footage that is for the most part still needing to be completed before its release next year but the more I've thought about this footage the more my hopes for this film have gone into the same territory as my hopes for the Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars Episode 7 in that while I am keen to see all three of these films I also have very deep seated reservations about each of them that will probably only be resolved when I am seated in the cinema for each of them.
And so ends my thoughts on the Comic Con footage of Mad Max 4 and as for the Road Warrior well he lives for the moment only in our memories.
And the film also went to the San Diego Comic Con over the weekend and the footage shown from that panel event was later made available around the world to watch and being the Mad Max fan I am (the first two films in the series are the only films I've seen that have given the Star Wars Trilogy a run for their money on my favorite films list) I was keen to check this footage out.
But sad to say the footage left a very mixed taste in my mouth after it was over and the reasons are numbered below:
- The first and biggest reason is that the tone of it reminded me a lot of the comic book feel of the third Mad Max film Beyond Thunderdome and the hard hitting Car Stunts of Mad Max 2 (NOT THE ROAD WARRIOR!!!!) and for me I didn't think this was a good thing as I did not like Thunderdome for that reason the comic book/Indiana Jones tone really put me off especially given the hard hitting fast driving Australian feel the first two films had and worked very well whereas here the mix of the two put me off.
- The second is sadly Tom Hardy himself, Hardy inherited the role when Mel Gibson walked away from the film (Gibson and Miller were going to make the film together back in 2003 before the Iraq War broke out and the US Dollar crashed against the Australian dollar) and when he opens his mouth and says "My Name is Max" the British tone of voice really grated with me and I kept thinking afterwards "Why couldn't an Australian actor like Jason Clarke or Joel Edgerton have taken over this role" but given the increasing reliance on the International Box Office these days I doubt Warner Brothers or Village Roadshow would've gone with that idea.
Even though to continue on this part THEY DAMN WELL SHOULD HAVE!! as this is an Australian film franchise and that's who this role should've gone to in Gibson's absence and yes I did miss him as well after hearing Hardy's voice in the footage.
Now I know that it is very hard to judge what the film will be like based off footage that is for the most part still needing to be completed before its release next year but the more I've thought about this footage the more my hopes for this film have gone into the same territory as my hopes for the Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars Episode 7 in that while I am keen to see all three of these films I also have very deep seated reservations about each of them that will probably only be resolved when I am seated in the cinema for each of them.
And so ends my thoughts on the Comic Con footage of Mad Max 4 and as for the Road Warrior well he lives for the moment only in our memories.
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