Pan is a new telling of the Peter Pan legend and stars Levi Miller as young Peter orphaned in WW2 England but manages to escape on the ship of Pirate Captain Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) whilst working in his mines he meets another orphan named Hook (Garrett Hedlund) and the two then set off on a great journey in this new world of Neverland.
Pan is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination but it is also a deathly boring film to sit through, possibly the most boring I've seen this year ahead of Tomorrowland and Ricki and the Flash and the reasons are numerous:
- The first is that the storyline itself feels so plodding and predictable that you just sit there bored out of your brain watching the film unfold and you also sit there wishing that you could just rewrite the bloody thing yourself I mean the story of Pan and Hook being friends could've been interesting I mean look at Xavier and Magneto in X-Men and indeed a film like X-Men First Class could've been somewhere to look in terms of finding an inspiration for this film but instead it plays out like a bad knockoff of Avatar and Harry Potter and it suffers hugely in comparison.
- The second is that the world of Neverland looks so dark and dreary here and that was not the case when I think back to the 1951 Walt Disney version of Peter Pan, it was bright and colourful and cheery whereas here it all looks cheap for a start with some pretty average CG work and small scale sets (hell the mines reminded me of Immortan Joe's citadel from Mad Max Fury Road) and again after a while I just got bored looking at it all.
- And lastly the performances are dull as all Smeg to watch, I love Jackman and I love Rooney Mara who plays Tiger Lily but both of them are horribly wasted in their roles, Hugh plays Blackbeard as a cross between Ramirez from Highlander and Immortan Joe from Mad Max Fury Road and Mara is reduced to the token Warrior Woman, Miller does Peter with a really cheesy British Accent while Hedlund tries to make Hook into an Indiana Jones type Adventurer but just grates after a while.
And so that was Pan, a film I cannot recommend you spend your money to go and see and indeed whilst watching it myself I wished I was watching the new Blinky Bill movie, Sicario and/or Dragon Ball Z Resurrection F instead, 1 out of 5.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Film Review - Oddball (2015)
Oddball is an Australian film that takes place in the South West Victorian town of Warrnambool and concens Chicken Farmer Swampy (Shane Jacobson) who's mischevious Dog Oddball causes a lot of damage in town but one night after rescuing a local penguin from a Fox (Foxes have been hunting the Penguins on the Island Sanctuary they call Home) Oddball scares off the Fox and Swampy gets an idea.
Despite it taking place in the area I myself call home, Oddball is sadly just another run of the mill kids film that will probably work best for 4 to 6 year olds but I doubt older children or their parents for that matter will be all that interested in it as it is very light hearted and at times it has its charms but it also didn't really hold my attention beyond the first 2 acts of the film.
And the reason for this I feel is that the story here gets pretty predictable as it goes on and by the time the 3rd act came around I began to get a little bit bored with it all including its really silly ending, Jacobson is a fine everyman here but he is doing a lot of that work himself, Sarah Snook again is okay, Deborah Mailman was nice to see here in a small role and Alan Tudyk pretty much played the token American we see in a fair few Aussie films.
I wish I could be more enthusiastic about this movie but seeing the places I visit every week on the cinema screen (and indeed in the very place it was filmed) just wasn't enough for me to pile this into the straightforward kids film pile, good for the younger kids but older kids might be wise to see the Maze Runner: Scorch Trials or Pan instead, 2 out of 5.
Despite it taking place in the area I myself call home, Oddball is sadly just another run of the mill kids film that will probably work best for 4 to 6 year olds but I doubt older children or their parents for that matter will be all that interested in it as it is very light hearted and at times it has its charms but it also didn't really hold my attention beyond the first 2 acts of the film.
And the reason for this I feel is that the story here gets pretty predictable as it goes on and by the time the 3rd act came around I began to get a little bit bored with it all including its really silly ending, Jacobson is a fine everyman here but he is doing a lot of that work himself, Sarah Snook again is okay, Deborah Mailman was nice to see here in a small role and Alan Tudyk pretty much played the token American we see in a fair few Aussie films.
I wish I could be more enthusiastic about this movie but seeing the places I visit every week on the cinema screen (and indeed in the very place it was filmed) just wasn't enough for me to pile this into the straightforward kids film pile, good for the younger kids but older kids might be wise to see the Maze Runner: Scorch Trials or Pan instead, 2 out of 5.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
On the Air Season 2 Episode 8: Mr Fantastic's Very Bombastic Flop
Well folks here we are again:
2 new Radio episodes which covers the films I saw last month in August which were:
- Fantastic Four
- Trainwreck
- Last Cab to Darwin
- The Man from UNCLE
- Vacation
As always you can click on the streaming option in your web browser or right click to save them to your computer.
Link to the shows is here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2015/09/friday-flicks-trainwreck-fantastic-4-last-cab-to-darwin-vacation-the-man-from-uncle-.html?site=southeastsa&program=south_east_mornings
2 new Radio episodes which covers the films I saw last month in August which were:
- Fantastic Four
- Trainwreck
- Last Cab to Darwin
- The Man from UNCLE
- Vacation
As always you can click on the streaming option in your web browser or right click to save them to your computer.
Link to the shows is here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2015/09/friday-flicks-trainwreck-fantastic-4-last-cab-to-darwin-vacation-the-man-from-uncle-.html?site=southeastsa&program=south_east_mornings
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Film Review - The Age of Adaline (2015)
The Age of Adaline does tell the tale of Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) a young woman born at the turn of the 20th century but after suffering a horrible accident is suddenly blessed with eternal life but on New Year's Eve she meets Ellis (Michel Huisman) which prompts her to ask a big Question: Who Wants to Live Forever?
I was really looking forward to this movie mainly because I loved the preview for it, it reminded me an awful lot of one of my favourite movies of all time Highlander with Christopher Lambert but this could this film deliver on that promise or can there truly be only one.
Well I am happy to report that this movie did indeed deliver the goods, I found it to be a very charming love story with an appropriate sprinkling of the immortality myth like we saw in Highlander, Lively has been someone I've not really liked all that much over the years but I thought she did very well here which is ironic given her own husband Ryan Reynolds was going to be the new Connor MacLeod in the Highlander remake, Huisman is fine but his character bothered me at times throughout the film.
The best performance however is Harrison Ford's and its probably the best he's been in a long time as Ellis's father who knew Adaline in his youth and the heartache he feels when she comes back feels very real, hopefully with this and the new Star Wars film we might see the Harrison Ford of old come back as he's been a bit of a grump on screen for a fair few years now.
Now look Age of Adaline is not the best film I've seen but it was one that I thought was pretty charming thanks to its central storyline/character and the key performances particularly by Ford, 3 and a half out of 5.
I was really looking forward to this movie mainly because I loved the preview for it, it reminded me an awful lot of one of my favourite movies of all time Highlander with Christopher Lambert but this could this film deliver on that promise or can there truly be only one.
Well I am happy to report that this movie did indeed deliver the goods, I found it to be a very charming love story with an appropriate sprinkling of the immortality myth like we saw in Highlander, Lively has been someone I've not really liked all that much over the years but I thought she did very well here which is ironic given her own husband Ryan Reynolds was going to be the new Connor MacLeod in the Highlander remake, Huisman is fine but his character bothered me at times throughout the film.
The best performance however is Harrison Ford's and its probably the best he's been in a long time as Ellis's father who knew Adaline in his youth and the heartache he feels when she comes back feels very real, hopefully with this and the new Star Wars film we might see the Harrison Ford of old come back as he's been a bit of a grump on screen for a fair few years now.
Now look Age of Adaline is not the best film I've seen but it was one that I thought was pretty charming thanks to its central storyline/character and the key performances particularly by Ford, 3 and a half out of 5.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Film Review - A Walk in the Woods (2015)
A Walk in the Woods is based off of the book by Bill Bryson and indeed Robert Redford plays Bill in this movie who after a funeral decides to go and walk the Appalachian Trail but his wife (Emma Thompson) insists he not do it alone due to his old age so he calls up an old friend (Nick Nolte) who decides to go with him on one last adventure.
A Walk in the Woods is fun but probably a little forgettable once you've seen it and what makes it the fun watch it is is the chemistry between Redford and Nolte, the two of them play off each other like the old pros they are and Nolte in particular gets a lot of the film's best laughs.
But apart from them and the nice scenery the film is pretty straight forward in that "one last adventure before it's too late" vein and it's not all that a memorable one either, that doesn't make it bad but just another film you go and see and then file away once you've seen it never to return again.
When the film ended I turned to the lady next to me (who had read the book as I haven't) I asked what her thoughts were on the film and she said "Not as good as the book but it has some nice scenery") and I feel that will be the response to some for this movie, as for me well it was fun but forgettable, 2 out of 5.
A Walk in the Woods is fun but probably a little forgettable once you've seen it and what makes it the fun watch it is is the chemistry between Redford and Nolte, the two of them play off each other like the old pros they are and Nolte in particular gets a lot of the film's best laughs.
But apart from them and the nice scenery the film is pretty straight forward in that "one last adventure before it's too late" vein and it's not all that a memorable one either, that doesn't make it bad but just another film you go and see and then file away once you've seen it never to return again.
When the film ended I turned to the lady next to me (who had read the book as I haven't) I asked what her thoughts were on the film and she said "Not as good as the book but it has some nice scenery") and I feel that will be the response to some for this movie, as for me well it was fun but forgettable, 2 out of 5.
Film Review - Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Straight Outta Compton is directed by F. Gary Gray and tells the tale of the Hip Hop band NWA and their rise from the Hood to superstar performers in the late 80s and early 90s.
This is a fantastic movie surely one of my favorites of the year for many reasons:
- First is the very dark edge the film has, there is a LOT of swearing in this movie and a fair amount of violence and talk about drugs and sexual scenes and while it will put some off from seeing this movie (and I can understand that) I just dove right in as I love this sort of dark edged filmmaking and Gray stays very true to the roots of the band.
- Secondly the soundtrack is fantastic and it makes seeing this film on the big screen so very worthwhile as when the band starts performing the sound lights up and you really feel the songs in the score system plus I like how the songs in the film reflect what the guys see, probably one of the year's best soundtracks for a film.
- Thirdly the actors themselves do a very good job in this movie, Ice Cube's own son O'Shea Jackson Jr. plays his Dad as a young man in this movie and is very compelling in his own right, Corey Hawkins is really good as the young Dr. Dre (and he reminds me a lot of Tony Todd) as is Jason Mitchell who plays Eazy-E, the three also have a really good chemistry together as the band and Paul Giamatti also delivers a good performance as the main white actor in the film.
Oh and I also enjoyed getting to see Alexandra Shipp as Cube's wife in the later part of the film, why did I mention her you say well it's because she's also going to be playing the young Storm in X-Men Apocalypse next year and I love the look of her in that film (especially with the Mohawk.)
- And lastly the film's use of the era it takes place in is extremely good and it was really really interesting to me to see the birth of not just NWA but other big personalities from their world who would later find success in their own right (there's even a nice reference to Boyz N the Hood which John Singleton directed and who was going to direct this movie before Gray took over as well as a reference to Friday which was Gray's first feature film as a director.) as well as using real news footage and clips from that era.
So yeah I can't recommend Straight Outta Compton highly enough, it's one of my fav films of the year and I will definitely be heading to see this one again in the cinema, 4 and a half out of 5.
This is a fantastic movie surely one of my favorites of the year for many reasons:
- First is the very dark edge the film has, there is a LOT of swearing in this movie and a fair amount of violence and talk about drugs and sexual scenes and while it will put some off from seeing this movie (and I can understand that) I just dove right in as I love this sort of dark edged filmmaking and Gray stays very true to the roots of the band.
- Secondly the soundtrack is fantastic and it makes seeing this film on the big screen so very worthwhile as when the band starts performing the sound lights up and you really feel the songs in the score system plus I like how the songs in the film reflect what the guys see, probably one of the year's best soundtracks for a film.
- Thirdly the actors themselves do a very good job in this movie, Ice Cube's own son O'Shea Jackson Jr. plays his Dad as a young man in this movie and is very compelling in his own right, Corey Hawkins is really good as the young Dr. Dre (and he reminds me a lot of Tony Todd) as is Jason Mitchell who plays Eazy-E, the three also have a really good chemistry together as the band and Paul Giamatti also delivers a good performance as the main white actor in the film.
Oh and I also enjoyed getting to see Alexandra Shipp as Cube's wife in the later part of the film, why did I mention her you say well it's because she's also going to be playing the young Storm in X-Men Apocalypse next year and I love the look of her in that film (especially with the Mohawk.)
- And lastly the film's use of the era it takes place in is extremely good and it was really really interesting to me to see the birth of not just NWA but other big personalities from their world who would later find success in their own right (there's even a nice reference to Boyz N the Hood which John Singleton directed and who was going to direct this movie before Gray took over as well as a reference to Friday which was Gray's first feature film as a director.) as well as using real news footage and clips from that era.
So yeah I can't recommend Straight Outta Compton highly enough, it's one of my fav films of the year and I will definitely be heading to see this one again in the cinema, 4 and a half out of 5.
Film Review - The Gift (2015)
The Gift is written, directed and starring Joel Edgerton and the story concerns Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) a young married couple who have moved away from Chicago to start over again but a mysterious man named Gordo (Edgerton himself) starts dropping gifts at their house and he may even have a connection to Simon's past.
Part of me was very reluctant to see this film as I am not a horror fan at all but slowly and surely I was persuaded to go and give it a look after all Edgerton is a really bright talent these days.
And boy was I glad I did as this was a really nice surprise, the film is genuinely creepy to watch and should be seen on the big screen for the full effect, Bateman and Hall are great as a couple and Hall in particular is fantastic, this woman is seriously one of the most underrated actresses working today and one day she will get the recognition that is rightly deserving of her.
As for Edgerton himself well good sir I forgive you for your terrible work in Exodus Gods and Kings last year as his performance and his behind the camera work have seriously cemented his place as one of the brightest talents of his generation and his script in particular is genius as the horror here feels very real to you, Gordo could be any one of us, someone we don't expect, the classic Wolf in Sheep's clothing or even someone embittered with life and obsessed with vengeance and boy oh boy is it a refreshing change of pace from the endless blood and guts freakshows we get too much of.
And so that was the Gift a really nice surprise of a film that I have no problems recommending at all, 3 and a half out of 5.
Part of me was very reluctant to see this film as I am not a horror fan at all but slowly and surely I was persuaded to go and give it a look after all Edgerton is a really bright talent these days.
And boy was I glad I did as this was a really nice surprise, the film is genuinely creepy to watch and should be seen on the big screen for the full effect, Bateman and Hall are great as a couple and Hall in particular is fantastic, this woman is seriously one of the most underrated actresses working today and one day she will get the recognition that is rightly deserving of her.
As for Edgerton himself well good sir I forgive you for your terrible work in Exodus Gods and Kings last year as his performance and his behind the camera work have seriously cemented his place as one of the brightest talents of his generation and his script in particular is genius as the horror here feels very real to you, Gordo could be any one of us, someone we don't expect, the classic Wolf in Sheep's clothing or even someone embittered with life and obsessed with vengeance and boy oh boy is it a refreshing change of pace from the endless blood and guts freakshows we get too much of.
And so that was the Gift a really nice surprise of a film that I have no problems recommending at all, 3 and a half out of 5.
Film Review - Ricki and the Flash (2015)
Ricki and the Flash is directed by Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) and written by Diablo Cody and stars Meryl Streep as Ricki/Lynda head of the Flash rock band who is asked by her estranged husband (Kevin Kline) to help look after their daughter (Mamie Gummer, Streep's real life daughter) after she has a breakdown but getting her back to health will not be easy.
I think it is fair to say that this along with Brad Bird's Tomorrowland would have to be the most boring movies I sat through all year so far as there is literally nothing here to grasp to on screen and look at the talent involved, Demme, Cody, Streep, Kline hell even Sebastian Stan (Bucky the Winter Soldier) appears briefly in this but all of them just dropped the ball although unfortunately Stan's character didn't turn into the Winter Soldier at the end of the film and killed everyone which I started to wish would happen.
And literally there is none of the bite or edge or sharpness to Cody's work like you saw in Jennifer's Body or Young Adult and Demme is a good director but he was the wrong man for this job, Cody should've taken the reigns herself and it might have made for an interesting film (or at least one with more edge to it like Young Adult had.) but I will say that Gummer does make the best of the very small role she has and I thought possessed some of the fire her mother showed in performances like Silkwood a fire that has now long burnt out.
And so that was Ricki and the Flash, a near complete borefest to watch, 1 out of 5.
I think it is fair to say that this along with Brad Bird's Tomorrowland would have to be the most boring movies I sat through all year so far as there is literally nothing here to grasp to on screen and look at the talent involved, Demme, Cody, Streep, Kline hell even Sebastian Stan (Bucky the Winter Soldier) appears briefly in this but all of them just dropped the ball although unfortunately Stan's character didn't turn into the Winter Soldier at the end of the film and killed everyone which I started to wish would happen.
And literally there is none of the bite or edge or sharpness to Cody's work like you saw in Jennifer's Body or Young Adult and Demme is a good director but he was the wrong man for this job, Cody should've taken the reigns herself and it might have made for an interesting film (or at least one with more edge to it like Young Adult had.) but I will say that Gummer does make the best of the very small role she has and I thought possessed some of the fire her mother showed in performances like Silkwood a fire that has now long burnt out.
And so that was Ricki and the Flash, a near complete borefest to watch, 1 out of 5.
Film Review - Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F (2015)
Resurrection F is the latest Dragon Ball Z movie following last year's Battle of Gods and this time the villainous Frieza once the ruler of a vast galactic Empire is suffering in Hell whilst his Empire has crumbled so Sorbet plans to use the Dragon Balls to bring him back to life and once doing that one thing remains on his mind: Vengeance against Goku.
I was an ENORMOUS fan of the Dragon Ball Z TV series in 2000 and 2001 which was when the series at its peak (the films continued later on after that) and I was such a fan that I nearly took up martial arts as a result but I didn't and over time I lost interest in the series but when I read about this new film with Frieza (the series' best villain) coming back on the big screen well how could I say No.
And I am very glad I went to this as I thought it was great fun on the big screen, the film brilliantly blends both traditional and computer animation plus the film very nicely uses the ensemble of the characters in the battles and the main showdown of Goku vs Frieza was awe inspiring to the point where I felt a bit of a chill in my back and hands plus the film has some terrific moments of comedy that made the very large crowd I saw it with laugh a lot out loud.
But despite all of these strong positive points the film is sadly pretty forgettable and the reason I feel this is the case is that outside of the vengeance goal Frieza's return has no real substance to it, in the series he was the master of the universe, the fiercest and most powerful warrior of them all and it took literally everything the Z fighters had to stop him (despite criminally letting Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu sit it out when they should have been there on Namek to help their friends) so much so that it broke Goku to the point where he became the legendary Super Saiyan (THE 1 fighter Frieza feared the most.)
Here his return just has no substance to it, no sense of stakes like the fight with Frieza in the series had and also Yamcha and Chiaotzu's absence was hard to forgive for me whereas the Tree of Might (the 3rd film in the series and one I must have watched again and again and again) had I think the elements where DBZ works best:
- It has the ensemble of the characters fighting together
- It has a strong villain with a drive and a purpose
- It has the heroes being pushed to the brink
And lastly it has a sense of stakes to it whereas here I just didn't feel that and as a result I just ended up forgetting about it the next day and it saddens me somewhat to say that because I really was looking forward to this in a big way and lastly I also kept thinking afterwards that the characters from the X-Men could've defeated these guys particularly characters like Cyclops, Quicksilver, Magneto and Xavier.
And so that was Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, a fun if slightly forgettable and maybe disappointing film in the long run, worth it if you're a fan but don't expect too much from this film, 2 and a half out of 5.
I was an ENORMOUS fan of the Dragon Ball Z TV series in 2000 and 2001 which was when the series at its peak (the films continued later on after that) and I was such a fan that I nearly took up martial arts as a result but I didn't and over time I lost interest in the series but when I read about this new film with Frieza (the series' best villain) coming back on the big screen well how could I say No.
And I am very glad I went to this as I thought it was great fun on the big screen, the film brilliantly blends both traditional and computer animation plus the film very nicely uses the ensemble of the characters in the battles and the main showdown of Goku vs Frieza was awe inspiring to the point where I felt a bit of a chill in my back and hands plus the film has some terrific moments of comedy that made the very large crowd I saw it with laugh a lot out loud.
But despite all of these strong positive points the film is sadly pretty forgettable and the reason I feel this is the case is that outside of the vengeance goal Frieza's return has no real substance to it, in the series he was the master of the universe, the fiercest and most powerful warrior of them all and it took literally everything the Z fighters had to stop him (despite criminally letting Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu sit it out when they should have been there on Namek to help their friends) so much so that it broke Goku to the point where he became the legendary Super Saiyan (THE 1 fighter Frieza feared the most.)
Here his return just has no substance to it, no sense of stakes like the fight with Frieza in the series had and also Yamcha and Chiaotzu's absence was hard to forgive for me whereas the Tree of Might (the 3rd film in the series and one I must have watched again and again and again) had I think the elements where DBZ works best:
- It has the ensemble of the characters fighting together
- It has a strong villain with a drive and a purpose
- It has the heroes being pushed to the brink
And lastly it has a sense of stakes to it whereas here I just didn't feel that and as a result I just ended up forgetting about it the next day and it saddens me somewhat to say that because I really was looking forward to this in a big way and lastly I also kept thinking afterwards that the characters from the X-Men could've defeated these guys particularly characters like Cyclops, Quicksilver, Magneto and Xavier.
And so that was Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, a fun if slightly forgettable and maybe disappointing film in the long run, worth it if you're a fan but don't expect too much from this film, 2 and a half out of 5.
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