Vice is written and directed by Adam McKay who also made the Big Short and stars Christian Bale as Dick Cheney the one time Vice President of the United States during the Bush administration and the film shows how he met his wife Lynne (Amy Adams) and how he eventually rose to the second most powerful position in the White House.
Vice has some good performances but it was a film that I hated watching for these reasons:
- Firstly the editing here is simply atrocious, you are bombarded with one quick cut after another, one tangent after another and one misdirect after another that you just sit there in your damn seat going “What the Hell am I fucking watching” as so much stuff is thrown at you at times out of order with the timeline of events as they took place (and I thought Bohemian Rhapsody fiddled around with events.) that I just got annoyed with it all and just wanted Mr McKay and his editors to just tell a coherent story.
- Secondly those tangents come right out of nowhere and misdirect you in such a way that it takes you out of the experience of watching the film and the story unfold and for one or two times it was an interesting gimmick but this movie does it over and over and over again as if your so bloody stupid Mr Cinema Goer that every point has to be explained over and over again and I just think to myself “Yeah mate I got this the first time I’m not an idiot” and the more the film went on I just wanted it to end.
And in admist this mess of incompetence is some great performances chief among them Mr Bale as Dick Cheney he inhabits this character so well that you don’t think your watching Bale as an actor, Ms Adams is also very good as Lynne Cheney and I also really liked Steve Carrell as Donald Rumsfield the former Defence Secretary and I wish he was being nominated instead of Sam Rockwell as George W Bush who comes across both in his performance and the portrayal in the film as way too cartoonish and the real W was not like that even though he could be a bit fumbly at times.
And so that was my review of Vice and I hated this movie for his scattershot filmmaking and inept editing and at times cartoonish performances that don’t do any justice to the real people, 1 out of 5.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Film Review - The Mule (2019)
The Mule is directed by and stars Clint Eastwood as Earl Stone a man who works with Daisy’s for a living even if he ignores his family (Tessa Farmiga, Dianne Weist and Alison Eastwood) but when his flower shop goes bust he has to find a new job and he is offered a simple driving job from A to B though little does he know that he’s become a Drug Mule but someone like him with a clean criminal record and his old age makes him ideal for that work.
There is something very reassuring about watching Clint Eastwood on screen in a movie and this is his first on screen role since Trouble with the Curve in 2012 and while I was watching him in this movie I couldn’t help but smile a little because there was a part of me that thought that no matter what happens it feels like everything will be okay even though he is 89 now and at times looked very frail and skinny and I thought to myself “No no don’t move” as if he was a grandparent or something and when I began to think about it some more I thought of Donald Sutherland in the Leisure Seeker last year.
And it had me thinking that I imagined those men in the roles that made me fall in love with them be it Dirty Harry or Firefox or the Hunger Games series or as the head of the Jebediah Springfield museum respectively and watching them be frail or sick in a film and I know their just playing the part I couldn’t help but react a little as if it was watching a family member be similar.
As for the film itself it is okay, it doesn’t reach the heights that both American Sniper or Sully reached which felt like vintage Eastwood films up there with his best work this is more of his middle of the road fare where he did a few takes, shot it relatively quickly and put it out for Warner Brothers so he could move on to a more personal project.
The rest of the cast are pretty good, Bradley Cooper has a small role as a DEA agent, Lawrence Fishburne plays his boss, Michael Pena is his sidekick and their all pretty good, also good is Ms Weist as Earl’s long suffering wife and Andy Garcia as the head of the Cartel Earl goes to work for.
And so that was my review of the Mule and it’s a serviceable effort from Clint but it isn’t one of his best, 2 out of 5.
There is something very reassuring about watching Clint Eastwood on screen in a movie and this is his first on screen role since Trouble with the Curve in 2012 and while I was watching him in this movie I couldn’t help but smile a little because there was a part of me that thought that no matter what happens it feels like everything will be okay even though he is 89 now and at times looked very frail and skinny and I thought to myself “No no don’t move” as if he was a grandparent or something and when I began to think about it some more I thought of Donald Sutherland in the Leisure Seeker last year.
And it had me thinking that I imagined those men in the roles that made me fall in love with them be it Dirty Harry or Firefox or the Hunger Games series or as the head of the Jebediah Springfield museum respectively and watching them be frail or sick in a film and I know their just playing the part I couldn’t help but react a little as if it was watching a family member be similar.
As for the film itself it is okay, it doesn’t reach the heights that both American Sniper or Sully reached which felt like vintage Eastwood films up there with his best work this is more of his middle of the road fare where he did a few takes, shot it relatively quickly and put it out for Warner Brothers so he could move on to a more personal project.
The rest of the cast are pretty good, Bradley Cooper has a small role as a DEA agent, Lawrence Fishburne plays his boss, Michael Pena is his sidekick and their all pretty good, also good is Ms Weist as Earl’s long suffering wife and Andy Garcia as the head of the Cartel Earl goes to work for.
And so that was my review of the Mule and it’s a serviceable effort from Clint but it isn’t one of his best, 2 out of 5.
Film Review - Green Book (2019)
Green Book is based off of the true story of Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) who works as a Bouncer in the Copabanca bar in 1960s New York when he has to find a new job and as it turns out he is offered a driving job for Dr Don Shirley (Maehershala Ali) as he performs in the deep south of the United States, a part of the country that is still heavily segregated.
Green Book works best when it focuses on the friendship and the chemistry between its two lead characters and actors, though it takes a while for their chemistry to develop when it does the film is great to watch as Mr Ali and Mr Mortensen play off each other very well and as the film goes on you can see the depth of their friendship start to develop.
Sadly the film they find themselves in has some serious issues in regards to its tone as a lot of the time the laughs the film tends to go for tend to be of the “Ah hoh hoh hoh” variety and what I mean by that as opposed to the traditional “ha ha ha” laugh is that while your laughing your also feeling a little cringey at the same time and scenes like the Fried Chicken one that’s in the previews for the film were that type of comedy and at that same time it was to be serious about 1960s America and the segregation that went on especially down south and the two streams don’t cross very well and as a result while I enjoyed myself the tonal shifts did bother me.
And so that was my review of Green Book and it’s an enjoyable enough film but it has some serious tonal issues, 2 and a half out of 5.
Green Book works best when it focuses on the friendship and the chemistry between its two lead characters and actors, though it takes a while for their chemistry to develop when it does the film is great to watch as Mr Ali and Mr Mortensen play off each other very well and as the film goes on you can see the depth of their friendship start to develop.
Sadly the film they find themselves in has some serious issues in regards to its tone as a lot of the time the laughs the film tends to go for tend to be of the “Ah hoh hoh hoh” variety and what I mean by that as opposed to the traditional “ha ha ha” laugh is that while your laughing your also feeling a little cringey at the same time and scenes like the Fried Chicken one that’s in the previews for the film were that type of comedy and at that same time it was to be serious about 1960s America and the segregation that went on especially down south and the two streams don’t cross very well and as a result while I enjoyed myself the tonal shifts did bother me.
And so that was my review of Green Book and it’s an enjoyable enough film but it has some serious tonal issues, 2 and a half out of 5.
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Film Review - Glass (2019)
Glass is the new film written and directed by M Night Shyamalan and is the continuation of both Unbreakable and Split, the story here sees David Dunn (Bruce Willis) hunting the Horde (James McAvoy) but after a confrontation they find themselves in a mental hospital run by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) and also housing none other than Elijah Price (Samuel L Jackson) and you should never underestimate the mastermind.
Glass was my 2nd most anticipated movie of 2019 (the top spot goes to Dragon Ball Super: Broly) as I thought Unbreakable was a very solid film and I absolutely loved Split in 2017 and the way Night used the tropes of a horror comic to tell the origin story of a supervillain I thought it was brilliant and now all 3 characters are together in one movie could it deliver the goods or shatter like a piece of Glass on the floor.
Sadly and it is very sad to say but this movie is a huge disappointment for me but before I delve into that I want to delve into what I did like and at the top of that list is Mr James McAvoy he hasn’t missed a beat since playing the Horde in Split and every time he was on screen playing the part I was grinning from ear to ear especially when he was playing Hedwig the little boy personality with the lisp.
And also I liked Bruce Willis as David Dunn he brings a world weary sense to the character and it felt like a logical continuation of his character from Unbreakable and the relationship he has with his son (Spencer Treat Clark) is quite nice as well.
But where this movie really shatters into glass shards on the floor is the screenplay, both Unbreakable and Split the 2 previous entries in this trilogy had a very clear sense of direction to them, characters that drove their stories and the overall storytelling was very clean and concise with the kind of twist ending that not only would make Shyamalan a household name but when done well would reward multiple viewings to try and find the clues that lead you down the path to his big twist/reveal.
Here it feels like there are at least 3 or 4 bullet point story ideas that Night had for this movie and he decided to mash them all together in this one film and there are times where it feels like your careening from one story point to the next with no sense of direction, story cohesion and structure and at times there are very choppy edits that make it look like some key scenes were removed in editing and when you do get to the ending it feels all the more unsatisfying because there’s no clear sense like in Split that takes you to that point where you think you’ve watched one thing when really your watching the other and it feels so satisfying.
But here I just sat there thinking “What the Hell” and also a lot of the scenes in the hospital feel far longer than they should due to (and I say this with a lead filled heart) Ms Paulson’s performances, this lady is someone I have adored on film and have never seen put a foot on wrong in a movie but here she does I’m afraid and try as she might she can’t make Shyamalan’s dialogue work and it carries this leaden feel that drags down the scenes where she exposits a lot of dialogue and I can’t help but feel someone else who could make that dialogue work would’ve been a better choice in the role.
And so that was my review of Glass and what a letdown this movie was I didn’t think it was anywhere near as good as Unbreakable or Split and coming off the heels of How to Train your Dragon 3 which was a good 3rd entry in a trilogy this feels worse all the more but if you liked Unbreakable and/or Split or Both films then I still urge you to go and see it for yourself, 1.5 out of 5.
Glass was my 2nd most anticipated movie of 2019 (the top spot goes to Dragon Ball Super: Broly) as I thought Unbreakable was a very solid film and I absolutely loved Split in 2017 and the way Night used the tropes of a horror comic to tell the origin story of a supervillain I thought it was brilliant and now all 3 characters are together in one movie could it deliver the goods or shatter like a piece of Glass on the floor.
Sadly and it is very sad to say but this movie is a huge disappointment for me but before I delve into that I want to delve into what I did like and at the top of that list is Mr James McAvoy he hasn’t missed a beat since playing the Horde in Split and every time he was on screen playing the part I was grinning from ear to ear especially when he was playing Hedwig the little boy personality with the lisp.
And also I liked Bruce Willis as David Dunn he brings a world weary sense to the character and it felt like a logical continuation of his character from Unbreakable and the relationship he has with his son (Spencer Treat Clark) is quite nice as well.
But where this movie really shatters into glass shards on the floor is the screenplay, both Unbreakable and Split the 2 previous entries in this trilogy had a very clear sense of direction to them, characters that drove their stories and the overall storytelling was very clean and concise with the kind of twist ending that not only would make Shyamalan a household name but when done well would reward multiple viewings to try and find the clues that lead you down the path to his big twist/reveal.
Here it feels like there are at least 3 or 4 bullet point story ideas that Night had for this movie and he decided to mash them all together in this one film and there are times where it feels like your careening from one story point to the next with no sense of direction, story cohesion and structure and at times there are very choppy edits that make it look like some key scenes were removed in editing and when you do get to the ending it feels all the more unsatisfying because there’s no clear sense like in Split that takes you to that point where you think you’ve watched one thing when really your watching the other and it feels so satisfying.
But here I just sat there thinking “What the Hell” and also a lot of the scenes in the hospital feel far longer than they should due to (and I say this with a lead filled heart) Ms Paulson’s performances, this lady is someone I have adored on film and have never seen put a foot on wrong in a movie but here she does I’m afraid and try as she might she can’t make Shyamalan’s dialogue work and it carries this leaden feel that drags down the scenes where she exposits a lot of dialogue and I can’t help but feel someone else who could make that dialogue work would’ve been a better choice in the role.
And so that was my review of Glass and what a letdown this movie was I didn’t think it was anywhere near as good as Unbreakable or Split and coming off the heels of How to Train your Dragon 3 which was a good 3rd entry in a trilogy this feels worse all the more but if you liked Unbreakable and/or Split or Both films then I still urge you to go and see it for yourself, 1.5 out of 5.
Film Review - The Kid who Would be King (2019)
The Kid who would Be King is written and directed by Joe Cornish and this is his second film after 2011’s Attack the Block, the story here concerns Alexander (Louie Serkis, son of Andy) a young boy who one night while running away from some local bullies discovers a sword in a stone which is also none other than Excalibur itself meanwhile the wizard Merlin (Angus Imrie and Sir Patrick Stewart) tells Alexander that the evil sorceress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson) will come in a number of days to claim the sword for herself and take over a leaderless world.
The Kid who Would be King is good fun and I had a lot of fun watching the film myself, Mr Cornish has definitely learnt not only from his experience making Attack the Block but also from his colleague Edgar Wright and some of his long time talent behind the camera (Marcus Rowland, Bill Pope and Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos) also worked on this movie and they did a good job Mr Pope in particular does great work as cinematographer and makes the British landscape look very appealing.
As for Cornish’s direction it is good though there is a lot of digital effects in the film and at times it made the overall film look a little soft while the performances are also quite good, young Louie is very much his fathers son as there are times I thought he looked a little bit like his dad and has a lot of his charisma as well, Mr Imrie is very funny as the young Merlin while Sir Patrick is his usual loveable self even if he is walking around in a Led Zeppelin T-Shirt and Ms Ferguson is a great choice to play Morgana even though she doesn’t get as much to do in the film.
If I have a complaint though it’s the length, the film runs about 2 hours long and it could’ve lost about 10 or 15 minutes without hurting much of the story and the length is definitely felt in the end battle which is fun but the digital effects feel very obvious during that climax.
And so that was my review of the Kid who Would be King and it’s a fun time at the movies which is worth seeing, 3 out of 5.
The Kid who Would be King is good fun and I had a lot of fun watching the film myself, Mr Cornish has definitely learnt not only from his experience making Attack the Block but also from his colleague Edgar Wright and some of his long time talent behind the camera (Marcus Rowland, Bill Pope and Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos) also worked on this movie and they did a good job Mr Pope in particular does great work as cinematographer and makes the British landscape look very appealing.
As for Cornish’s direction it is good though there is a lot of digital effects in the film and at times it made the overall film look a little soft while the performances are also quite good, young Louie is very much his fathers son as there are times I thought he looked a little bit like his dad and has a lot of his charisma as well, Mr Imrie is very funny as the young Merlin while Sir Patrick is his usual loveable self even if he is walking around in a Led Zeppelin T-Shirt and Ms Ferguson is a great choice to play Morgana even though she doesn’t get as much to do in the film.
If I have a complaint though it’s the length, the film runs about 2 hours long and it could’ve lost about 10 or 15 minutes without hurting much of the story and the length is definitely felt in the end battle which is fun but the digital effects feel very obvious during that climax.
And so that was my review of the Kid who Would be King and it’s a fun time at the movies which is worth seeing, 3 out of 5.
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Film Review - How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World is the third and final entry in the HTTYD trilogy and the story here sees Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) looking for a mysterious hidden world said to be existing at the very edge of the human world but in the meantime his kingdom of Burk is under attack from Dragon Hunters and on top of that his loyal Dragon toothless may have another Nightfury in existence.
How to train your Dragon 3 is a lot of fun for those of us like myself that have been fans of this series since it began with the first film in 2010 (March 2010 to be precise) and firstly the story builds off of the storytelling tracks the first 2 films laid down very well and when you begin to picture all 3 films as one big piece as I did in my head as I was watching it you can see it all come together as almost one big film with 3 parts where each part makes sense and each story makes sense.
And I will say it is awful nice to see a story with a proper ending as it increasingly feels like that that has been forgotten nowadays.
And also this is a very nice looking movie visually, all 3 films have had great visuals to them and this one is no exception be it the beauty of the hidden world, the dark colours of the villains or the soaring skies where the Dragons fly supreme that has never gotten old since the first film came out.
And so that was my short and sweet review of How to Train your Dragon 3 a good finale that wrapped up the series well with good visuals and a good story, 3 out of 5.
How to train your Dragon 3 is a lot of fun for those of us like myself that have been fans of this series since it began with the first film in 2010 (March 2010 to be precise) and firstly the story builds off of the storytelling tracks the first 2 films laid down very well and when you begin to picture all 3 films as one big piece as I did in my head as I was watching it you can see it all come together as almost one big film with 3 parts where each part makes sense and each story makes sense.
And I will say it is awful nice to see a story with a proper ending as it increasingly feels like that that has been forgotten nowadays.
And also this is a very nice looking movie visually, all 3 films have had great visuals to them and this one is no exception be it the beauty of the hidden world, the dark colours of the villains or the soaring skies where the Dragons fly supreme that has never gotten old since the first film came out.
And so that was my short and sweet review of How to Train your Dragon 3 a good finale that wrapped up the series well with good visuals and a good story, 3 out of 5.
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