Murder on the Orient Express is based off of the novel by Agatha Christie and is directed by and stars Sir Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot who boards the Orient Express train in the hopes of returning to London for a well deserved break but a passenger is later murdered and its up to Poirot to solve the case.
This isn’t one of the best films I’ve seen this year but I did enjoy myself quite a bit with this movie and a lot of that comes down firstly to Sir Ken for not only does he direct the film well with lots of interesting angles including his infamous dutch tilts but also by maintaining a tight pace to proceedings and also by making sure the story and the mystery never stray too far away from the train and thus rob the story of its momentum or tension as Poirot solves the case.
And also Branagh himself does well as Inspector Poirot and look the moustache is silly I know but it is what it is okay so I’m going to move on and leave it there as what it far more important is how Branagh goes as Poirot and as I mentioned above he handles himself very well in the part and watching him here made me go “I wouldn’t mind seeing a few films of him as this character” and some of his reveals in both the role and in directing the film are also good for a laugh.
But secondly the films overall cast consisting of Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Derek Jacobi, Josh Gad, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Dame Judi Dench and Olivia Coleman among others are also pretty good and it was sure nice to see Ms Pfeiffer in a good role again plus Depp not come across as a slobbish drunken buffoon pissing his great legacy against his wall after a bender the night before and part of me also did swoon a little whenever Ms Daisy came on screen.
Though thanks to Red Dwarf I knew the outcome of the case the Murder on the Orient Express is a well made and engaging murder mystery and is worth seeing, 3 out of 5.
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Film Review - The Snowman (2017)
The Snowman is based off of the novel by Jo Nesbo and stars Michael Fassbender as Harry Hole a detective who finds himself investigating a series of missing persons case where the clue is a snowman planted at the scene but he finds himself with some help in the form of Rebecca Ferguson and managing his ex-partner played by Charlotte Gainsbourg.
This movie is absolutely pathetic and I really felt when it was over that my time was wasted the whole 2 hours I mean you have:
- Tomas Alfredson the director of Tinker Tailor Sailor Spy and Let the Right One In
- Houssen Amini the screenwriter of Drive
- Martin Scorsese as Executive Producer
- Thelma Schoonmaker one of the top editors in the world editing this movie
And finally a great cast of Fassbender, Ferguson, Gainsbourg, JK Simmons, Val Kilmer and Toby Jones and yet not one of these people the production team in particular and especially Universal Pictures see with their own eyes that this was a disastrous mess that has no real story to it whatsoever.
And not only that but its editing is so very poor and a lot of times it falls back on the “Voice over exterior scenes” that often becomes a quick fix in the editing room and the overall editing here doesn’t give you a sense of a story or a mystery unfolding or even being told in a competent way and as a result it feels like very little is happening on screen.
The film does have some nice winter landscape shots but big fucking deal when the filmmaking here is so piss bloody poor it takes a great cast and flushes them through a toilet and this is a great cast but no one really gets a chance to shine and poor Val Kilmer sounds like his voice has been dubbed now he himself is said to not be in good health but sometimes his vocals don’t match the lip movements on Kilmer’s voice so he had to have been dubbed in the editing process.
Now there was indeed a potentially interesting murder story here to be told but when as Mr Alfredson is said to have stated that 10 to 15 percent of the script was not even filmed then that creates clear problems in terms of telling a coherent story that has a beginning, middle and end still it is just staggering how poorly this film comes together.
The Snowman is a pathetic mess and the very worst film I’ve seen this year I cannot believe so many high quality people some of the best of both past and present eras of filmmaking put out such a horrible incompetent mess of a movie I still feel angry about this, 0 out of 5.
This movie is absolutely pathetic and I really felt when it was over that my time was wasted the whole 2 hours I mean you have:
- Tomas Alfredson the director of Tinker Tailor Sailor Spy and Let the Right One In
- Houssen Amini the screenwriter of Drive
- Martin Scorsese as Executive Producer
- Thelma Schoonmaker one of the top editors in the world editing this movie
And finally a great cast of Fassbender, Ferguson, Gainsbourg, JK Simmons, Val Kilmer and Toby Jones and yet not one of these people the production team in particular and especially Universal Pictures see with their own eyes that this was a disastrous mess that has no real story to it whatsoever.
And not only that but its editing is so very poor and a lot of times it falls back on the “Voice over exterior scenes” that often becomes a quick fix in the editing room and the overall editing here doesn’t give you a sense of a story or a mystery unfolding or even being told in a competent way and as a result it feels like very little is happening on screen.
The film does have some nice winter landscape shots but big fucking deal when the filmmaking here is so piss bloody poor it takes a great cast and flushes them through a toilet and this is a great cast but no one really gets a chance to shine and poor Val Kilmer sounds like his voice has been dubbed now he himself is said to not be in good health but sometimes his vocals don’t match the lip movements on Kilmer’s voice so he had to have been dubbed in the editing process.
Now there was indeed a potentially interesting murder story here to be told but when as Mr Alfredson is said to have stated that 10 to 15 percent of the script was not even filmed then that creates clear problems in terms of telling a coherent story that has a beginning, middle and end still it is just staggering how poorly this film comes together.
The Snowman is a pathetic mess and the very worst film I’ve seen this year I cannot believe so many high quality people some of the best of both past and present eras of filmmaking put out such a horrible incompetent mess of a movie I still feel angry about this, 0 out of 5.
Film Review - Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok is the 17th Marvel Studios production and is directed by Taika Watiti who also made last year’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople the story here sees Thor (Chris Hemsworth) trying to prevent Ragnarok the end of everything but when a coup by the Goddess of Death Hela (Cate Blanchett) sees him and Loki (Tom Hiddelston) exiled from Asgard and stuck on planet Siccar they have to find a way home to stop Hela and also pick up an old friend.
Thor: Ragnarok is a lot of fun for two key reasons:
- First Watiti’s signature droll humour is on full display here and there are many times where I laughed a lot 2 references in particular had me laughing properly out loud in the cinema and much like the Wilderpeople there are a lot of jokes thrown at the screen but its done in a way that doesn’t make them feel overcooked they’re layered jokes that work on multiple levels and they work in a way that treats the audience with intelligence.
- And secondly a lot of the performances are quite good Hemsworth finally gets to show what a funny and charismatic lead he can be in the right hands and its definitely his best work in this series so far he’s been good in other films like Rush with Ron Howard but here his charisma and great sense of comic timing really shine here, Mark Ruffalo returns as the Hulk and he too is pretty good while Tessa Thompson does what she can with Valkyrie but doesn’t get a lot of screen time to shine, Tom Hiddleston meanwhile continues to be a bright light for this universe and it only cements my proof that he should be playing Prince Vegeta in a Dragon Ball Z film.
But alas there are two big issues with this movie:
- Firstly the film is far too long its 130 minutes and it could’ve easily lost 20 to 25 minutes off that length the Wilderpeople by contrast was only about 101 minutes and that film felt a lot punchier in terms of the impact of its humour and also the overall impact of the film itself whereas here the long runtime drags down the impact of its jokes and it makes the more heavier scenes feel out of place and this movie has that feel of the original Ghostbusters from 1984 in terms of balancing the seriousness with the comedy but that film was also only 105 minutes long and if Ragnarok had been around that runtime it would’ve worked much better as a film.
- Secondly and y’all know where this is going and it’s the same old song with the Marvel Studios villains and Blanchett is good in the film but she has very little screen time and a lot of her scenes feel disconnected from the main storyline as they have a much more serious feel to them and at times it takes away from the fun action sci-fi comedy tone the film strives for the most.
But again if the film had only been at that 105 to 110 minute length this might not have been such a problem but it is and it has also made me feel even more impatient for Thanos to show up in Avengers Infinity War next year and really emerge as the Mad Titan as Marvel Studios is in desperate need to make its villain work especially that one.
And so that was Thor: Ragnarok a really fun film even with that long length, 3 out of 5.
Thor: Ragnarok is a lot of fun for two key reasons:
- First Watiti’s signature droll humour is on full display here and there are many times where I laughed a lot 2 references in particular had me laughing properly out loud in the cinema and much like the Wilderpeople there are a lot of jokes thrown at the screen but its done in a way that doesn’t make them feel overcooked they’re layered jokes that work on multiple levels and they work in a way that treats the audience with intelligence.
- And secondly a lot of the performances are quite good Hemsworth finally gets to show what a funny and charismatic lead he can be in the right hands and its definitely his best work in this series so far he’s been good in other films like Rush with Ron Howard but here his charisma and great sense of comic timing really shine here, Mark Ruffalo returns as the Hulk and he too is pretty good while Tessa Thompson does what she can with Valkyrie but doesn’t get a lot of screen time to shine, Tom Hiddleston meanwhile continues to be a bright light for this universe and it only cements my proof that he should be playing Prince Vegeta in a Dragon Ball Z film.
But alas there are two big issues with this movie:
- Firstly the film is far too long its 130 minutes and it could’ve easily lost 20 to 25 minutes off that length the Wilderpeople by contrast was only about 101 minutes and that film felt a lot punchier in terms of the impact of its humour and also the overall impact of the film itself whereas here the long runtime drags down the impact of its jokes and it makes the more heavier scenes feel out of place and this movie has that feel of the original Ghostbusters from 1984 in terms of balancing the seriousness with the comedy but that film was also only 105 minutes long and if Ragnarok had been around that runtime it would’ve worked much better as a film.
- Secondly and y’all know where this is going and it’s the same old song with the Marvel Studios villains and Blanchett is good in the film but she has very little screen time and a lot of her scenes feel disconnected from the main storyline as they have a much more serious feel to them and at times it takes away from the fun action sci-fi comedy tone the film strives for the most.
But again if the film had only been at that 105 to 110 minute length this might not have been such a problem but it is and it has also made me feel even more impatient for Thanos to show up in Avengers Infinity War next year and really emerge as the Mad Titan as Marvel Studios is in desperate need to make its villain work especially that one.
And so that was Thor: Ragnarok a really fun film even with that long length, 3 out of 5.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Film Review - Geostorm (2017)
Geostorm is directed by Dean Devlin who worked with Roland Emmerich on Independence Day and Stargate among other films and tells the tale of an Earth ravaged by extreme weather so the worlds scientists devise a satellite system called Dutch Boy to contain them but when the head of the project named Jake Lawson (Gerard Butler) is fired from it 3 years later Dutch Boy begins to fail so Jake is recalled to action to get it working again.
Geostorm is a fun disaster film that really works because of two things:
- First is its disaster visual effects almost all of which are pretty cool with giant waves, tornadoes, lightning storms that look like mighty Thor is dropping for a visit, high winds, heavy hailstones all of which cause mass destruction across the world and had me going “This is so cool ha haha” and also making me think of Apocalypse from the X-Men and his quotes like “From the Ashes of their World we’ll build a better one” and “You can fire your arrows from the Tower of Babel but you can NEVER STRIKE GOOOOODDD” and “Nothing can stop the Apocalypse.”
- Secondly the cast know what their in for and have fun for the most part Butler does his usual thing of being the macho hero who helps save the day, Abbie Cornish has a good role as a secret service agent and Andy Garcia and Ed Harris are fun as well as US Presidential people who might hold the key to the project.
Alas however the films story is sadly pretty forgettable concerning government espionage, a conspiracy of power and what ends up becoming just another techno thriller where take phone calls and then are dead the next day to cover the tracks and other stuff has to be done to crack the code and save the day and after a while I got a bit bored of it.
And I couldn’t help but think that if Emmerich had directed this film instead of wasting his and our time on an utterly pointless and boring Independence Day sequel this could have been a fun companion to his underrated Day After Tomorrow but alas we got what we got.
And so that was Geostorm a fun if forgettable disaster film, 2 out of 5.
Geostorm is a fun disaster film that really works because of two things:
- First is its disaster visual effects almost all of which are pretty cool with giant waves, tornadoes, lightning storms that look like mighty Thor is dropping for a visit, high winds, heavy hailstones all of which cause mass destruction across the world and had me going “This is so cool ha haha” and also making me think of Apocalypse from the X-Men and his quotes like “From the Ashes of their World we’ll build a better one” and “You can fire your arrows from the Tower of Babel but you can NEVER STRIKE GOOOOODDD” and “Nothing can stop the Apocalypse.”
- Secondly the cast know what their in for and have fun for the most part Butler does his usual thing of being the macho hero who helps save the day, Abbie Cornish has a good role as a secret service agent and Andy Garcia and Ed Harris are fun as well as US Presidential people who might hold the key to the project.
Alas however the films story is sadly pretty forgettable concerning government espionage, a conspiracy of power and what ends up becoming just another techno thriller where take phone calls and then are dead the next day to cover the tracks and other stuff has to be done to crack the code and save the day and after a while I got a bit bored of it.
And I couldn’t help but think that if Emmerich had directed this film instead of wasting his and our time on an utterly pointless and boring Independence Day sequel this could have been a fun companion to his underrated Day After Tomorrow but alas we got what we got.
And so that was Geostorm a fun if forgettable disaster film, 2 out of 5.
Sunday, October 22, 2017
New Radio Ep
Well here is my new Radio ep where I reviewed:
- Blade Runner 2049
- Happy Death Day
- The Mountain Between Us
As always you can listen here: https://soundcloud.com/abclocalradio_sa/friday-flicks-oct-20-final
- Blade Runner 2049
- Happy Death Day
- The Mountain Between Us
As always you can listen here: https://soundcloud.com/abclocalradio_sa/friday-flicks-oct-20-final
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Film Review - The Mountain Between Us (2017)
The Mountain Between Us stars Idris Elba as Ben and Kate Winslet as Alex two complete strangers with a flight to catch desperately so they charter a flight which later ends up crashing in the mountains and with only weeks to survive the 2 must quickly find a way to get back to civilisation.
The Mountain Between Us is both a survival disaster film but also a melodrama love story and unfortunately the latter ends up undermining the former though the mountain scenery and the chemistry between Elba and Winslet is good and both of them do the best that they can.
But the script here just gets ridiculous at times especially with its love story sideplot and so much this was the case that I’ve been nicknaming the film differently as it gets too silly for my liking at one point towards the end of the film and it made me go “What, Nah nah I’m sorry but I am not buying this at all” and it was after that point that I really lost my patience with this movie and though “I love these actors both are very charismatic and likeable but this is terrible.”
Up until that certain scene I was prepared to let this movie slide into the “It’s fine but utterly forgettable” to “This is terrible” and yeah I cannot recommend this movie because of that, 1.5 out of 5.
The Mountain Between Us is both a survival disaster film but also a melodrama love story and unfortunately the latter ends up undermining the former though the mountain scenery and the chemistry between Elba and Winslet is good and both of them do the best that they can.
But the script here just gets ridiculous at times especially with its love story sideplot and so much this was the case that I’ve been nicknaming the film differently as it gets too silly for my liking at one point towards the end of the film and it made me go “What, Nah nah I’m sorry but I am not buying this at all” and it was after that point that I really lost my patience with this movie and though “I love these actors both are very charismatic and likeable but this is terrible.”
Up until that certain scene I was prepared to let this movie slide into the “It’s fine but utterly forgettable” to “This is terrible” and yeah I cannot recommend this movie because of that, 1.5 out of 5.
Film Review - Happy Death Day (2017)
Happy Death Day is produced by Jason Blum who also produced Split and Get Out earlier this year and concerns Teresa (Jessica Rothe) nicknamed Tree here she is a College student who wakes up on her birthday after a big party the night before and then not only finds herself murdered by a man wearing a baby mask that is the mascot of their College but she wakes up to find herself reliving that very day over again now the game’s afoot to find out who is responsible for her death.
Happy Death Day at first made me think of the Red Dwarf episode “Thanks for the Memory” as that episode took place on Rimmer’s Death Day and concerned a whodunit though one that is very different but also like that episode is a heap of fun and I found myself being very surprised at how much fun I had with this film and a lot of that is due to 2 things:
- The first is the great concept this film uses to make as its horror basis and Split from earlier this year also produced by Mr. Blum had a similar feeling in terms of being both a fun horror film as well as something else and this kind of horror is the type I prefer as opposed to the Conjuring type of horror with its endless jump scares, quick cuts and loud noises.
- The second is the way the storytelling unfolds Rothe makes for a very likeable and charming lead and watching her put the clues together and figure everything out even to the point of using the time of her death to her advantage is very good and as a result you become more invested in her as a character and the final reveal was not one that I saw coming and like a great twist reveal should do you end up going “Ah I see well done” though that can be very difficult to pull off especially in heist films so to see it done well here was very good indeed and made me that much more happier with the film when it ended.
And so that was Happy Death Day and I didn’t have a triple fried egg sandwich with chilli sauce and chutney before watching it but I did have a great time watching it, 3 and a half out of 5.
Happy Death Day at first made me think of the Red Dwarf episode “Thanks for the Memory” as that episode took place on Rimmer’s Death Day and concerned a whodunit though one that is very different but also like that episode is a heap of fun and I found myself being very surprised at how much fun I had with this film and a lot of that is due to 2 things:
- The first is the great concept this film uses to make as its horror basis and Split from earlier this year also produced by Mr. Blum had a similar feeling in terms of being both a fun horror film as well as something else and this kind of horror is the type I prefer as opposed to the Conjuring type of horror with its endless jump scares, quick cuts and loud noises.
- The second is the way the storytelling unfolds Rothe makes for a very likeable and charming lead and watching her put the clues together and figure everything out even to the point of using the time of her death to her advantage is very good and as a result you become more invested in her as a character and the final reveal was not one that I saw coming and like a great twist reveal should do you end up going “Ah I see well done” though that can be very difficult to pull off especially in heist films so to see it done well here was very good indeed and made me that much more happier with the film when it ended.
And so that was Happy Death Day and I didn’t have a triple fried egg sandwich with chilli sauce and chutney before watching it but I did have a great time watching it, 3 and a half out of 5.
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