tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38318401495703809722024-02-20T17:10:18.154+00:00The Wrath of BlogWrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.comBlogger1497125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-69599263743910882802019-05-16T12:38:00.000+01:002019-05-16T12:38:55.826+01:00Review #1,480: 'Fighting with My Family' (2019)Wrestling movies don't come along very often, at least not those that take the sport seriously. Perhaps the idea of adults dressing up in ridiculously skimpy costumes and acting out a pre-choreographed fight is theatrical enough already, so a leap to the big screen would be ultimately redundant, or maybe the sport is simply too niche to guarantee a healthy return on a studios investment. But ever since <i>The Wrestler </i>put Mickey Rourke through the ringer, there has been a newfound respect for wrestling and the athletes who push their bodies to the very limit, particularly from those who have never sat down to watch a WWE event in their lives. <i>Fighting with My Family </i>continues this trend, loosely retelling the story of Saraya-Jade Bevis , aka Paige, who emerged from a working-class wrestling family in Norwich, England to become a WWE champion.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVt_yRzaqlhoybEe6TRZgnGEgVbw9t9hieqz95kMULiJX2it0buqlAXCNZ_zkBwWbyOOOE0QZKcKNJ6n8-yDljrehQrzNLUXcpZZp3yLqlLSictQqGMuNl-rhNK8ndWWFBRj21xlhbfQfs/s1600/fightingwithmyfamily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="950" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVt_yRzaqlhoybEe6TRZgnGEgVbw9t9hieqz95kMULiJX2it0buqlAXCNZ_zkBwWbyOOOE0QZKcKNJ6n8-yDljrehQrzNLUXcpZZp3yLqlLSictQqGMuNl-rhNK8ndWWFBRj21xlhbfQfs/s320/fightingwithmyfamily.jpg" width="320" /></a>The film begins in 2002, with wrestling-mad 10 year-old Zak Knight getting pumped for the start of a WWF pay-per-view event before his younger sister Saraya turns over the channel to watch her favourite show, <i>Charmed</i>. Fast-forward a decade, and the two siblings have embraced their parents' passion for wrestling and have adopted ring names of their own. Zak (Jack Lowden) has become 'Zodiac Zak' and Saraya (Florence Pugh) is now 'Britani Knight', and they perform regularly at their wrestling club. The dream of dad Ricky (Nick Frost) and mum Julia (Lena Headey) is for their kids to make the transition to the big leagues, and tapes are regularly sent off to promoters in the hope of catching their eye. They finally receive a call from WWE trainer Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn) and receive an invitation for try-outs, but after a gruelling audition, only Saraya, now using the stage name Paige, is selected.<br />
<br />
As Zak is sent into a spiral of anger and depression, Paige struggles to work out who she is in Florida's sun-drenched world of golden-skinned models. Somewhat an outsider even back home (outside of the close-knit wrestling community), she feels isolated, mentally unprepared for the rigorous workout schedules and the standards required for the big-time. <i>Fighting with My Family </i>often flirts with cliche, but this is a sports movie after all. It works by developing characters we can relate to and truly root for, regardless of how ridiculous you may find the whole wrestling craze. This is down to the combined efforts of writer/director Stephen Merchant, who seems like the unlikeliest candidate to helm a wrestling picture, and the cast, who are all entirely believable.<br />
<br />
Pugh in particular finds the right balance of inner vulnerability and the outer toughness Hutch no doubt signed her up for, and Merchant helps bring out these traits with the right balance of comedy, drama and sentiment. Frost is also perfectly cast, showing once again that he's a terrific actor in his own right and not just Simon Pegg's sidekick. For wrestling fans, there are plenty of cameos to spot, with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson showing up for an extended cameo that may feel like a gimmick until you learn of his role in Paige's real-life story. Above all, <i>Fighting with My Family </i>is a heartfelt tale that celebrates embracing the inner weirdo and the sport that welcomes such misfits with open arms - if you're tough enough.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Merchant">Stephen Merchant</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Pugh">Florence Pugh</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Lowden">Jack Lowden</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Headey">Lena Headey</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Frost">Nick Frost</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Vaughn">Vince Vaughn</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_Johnson">Dwayne Johnson</a><br />
Country: UK/USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ****</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07P48DP59&asins=B07P48DP59&linkId=22816d2679b951b46b37c71e2ba3a921&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/I-X5WnMzOvA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I-X5WnMzOvA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt6513120" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6513120/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Fighting with My Family (2019) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-59714939865642078972019-05-13T19:27:00.000+01:002019-05-13T19:27:26.968+01:00Review #1,479: 'Planet of the Apes' (1968)"You maniacs! You blew it all up! God damn you all to hell!" The image of the sweaty, bare-chested Charlton Heston beating the floor as the truth finally hits home at the climax of <i>Planet of the Apes </i>is now one of the most iconic moments in cinema history. If you saw the film as a kid, chances are this will be the scene you'll remember, or the famous "Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape!" line, as Heston's fallen astronaut George Taylor reveals himself as an intelligent being to his simian captors. It's been lovingly parodied through the subsequent decades, and its memory somewhat tarnished by Tim Burton's abysmal 2001 remake, so it's easy to forget just how revolutionary Franklin J. Schaffner's film was for mainstream science-fiction cinema, and just how much it has inspired the genre with its legacy ever since.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_ZK6XVGDnoXcKh3lkk1E9ZRHvojPyew5rrsysgpXqBcwf1_nrxM3HuMU73b72vfv6PDucQhtHk8AVt0uoYUh3kSpf-6nae-5wYHaw-LvXrhRBG1_B-0vtllggRMVvJ31hoy2HUHljeid/s1600/planetoftheapes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_ZK6XVGDnoXcKh3lkk1E9ZRHvojPyew5rrsysgpXqBcwf1_nrxM3HuMU73b72vfv6PDucQhtHk8AVt0uoYUh3kSpf-6nae-5wYHaw-LvXrhRBG1_B-0vtllggRMVvJ31hoy2HUHljeid/s320/planetoftheapes.jpg" width="320" /></a>Astronauts Taylor, Landon (Robert Gunner) and Dodge (Jeff Burton) rest in deep hibernation as their spaceship speeds through the galaxy at light-speed. While the crew have aged just over a year, by the time the craft crashes down on a strange, but seemingly habitable, planet, two thousand years have gone by back on Earth. With no hope in sight, the three space travellers decide to trudge through the deserts of this unknown rock and eventually come across fresh water, stopping for a well-earned bathe despite the ominous presence of crude scarecrows looming over them. When their clothes are stolen, they encounter what appears to be a community of humans, only these are dressed in rags and don't communicate verbally. Out of nowhere, they are raided by figures on horseback, who hunt the fleeing humans to either kill or capture them. The aggressors are rifle-wielding gorillas wearing armour, and Taylor and Landon are ensnared and carried off to Ape City to be studied and experimented on by an intelligent ape society.<br />
<br />
While it's easy to get caught up in all the action and adventure, it's the social, political and religious observations that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled. <i>Planet of the Apes </i>is the stuff of truly great science-fiction, a genre that allows us to be whisked off to a different time or space that feels oddly close to home. Schaffner's film paints a pretty pessimistic picture of humanity, as Taylor, prior to hibernation, ponders the planet he thinks he'll eventually return to, and whether humanity will have moved on from the conflict-ridden world he was eager to leave behind. The world he is eventually plunged into is much like our own, or is certainly heading that way. Taylor is viewed as a threat, foretold in ancient religious texts that sound suspiciously like our own, while blinkered scientist Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans) dismisses the idea of evolution despite the pleas of psychologist Zira (Kim Hunter) and her fiance Cornelius (Roddy McDowall). The Oscar-winning make-up is also staggering, standing shoulder to shoulder with anything from the modern era. More than fifty years after its release, <i>Planet of the Apes </i>is better, and sadly more relevant, than ever. There's a reason this story is still being told.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_J._Schaffner">Franklin J. Schaffner</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlton_Heston">Charlton Heston</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roddy_McDowall">Roddy McDowall</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Hunter">Kim Hunter</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Evans_(actor)">Maurice Evans</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Whitmore">James Whitmore</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Harrison_(actress)">Linda Harrison</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: <span style="color: red;">*****</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B002COJBSY&asins=B002COJBSY&linkId=a04bb8a456b414d034c4837cd5676dad&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6luDsjJqgjA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6luDsjJqgjA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt0063442" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063442/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Planet of the Apes (1968) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-79337560551750612252019-05-12T16:43:00.000+01:002019-05-12T16:43:41.046+01:00Review #1,478: 'Assassin's Creed' (2016)Despite numerous critical and commercial failures over the last quarter of a century, Hollywood just cannot turn away from trying to capitalise on an industry that continues to out to out-gross them. Video game adaptations have been a thing ever since Nintendo tried and catastrophically failed to bring to life the colourful world of Mario and Luigi with 1993's <i>Super Mario Bros.</i>, and it's become a running joke ever since that there has never been, and will unlikely ever be, a decent console-to-big-screen adaptation. But the $1 billion-plus success of Capcom's <i>Resident Evil </i>franchise lingers in the minds of many a studio head, so pretty much every year a new cast and crew are put together to develop a game series with a promise to break the trend. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQ3NeJuBOA4wXzuCTeZhqaFIFeVQuh3PohfZz1hk34Yr4yo3iiwyB5xPPy4tHpwF6xosNABIwJlU6P1ka9UOQUzIyqWbnYVIEqcWX5FXb95YNAvtr0Dt22SrWLmmmToU-6SpjBS2m94t6/s1600/assassinscreed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="770" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQ3NeJuBOA4wXzuCTeZhqaFIFeVQuh3PohfZz1hk34Yr4yo3iiwyB5xPPy4tHpwF6xosNABIwJlU6P1ka9UOQUzIyqWbnYVIEqcWX5FXb95YNAvtr0Dt22SrWLmmmToU-6SpjBS2m94t6/s320/assassinscreed.jpg" width="320" /></a>While the likes of <i>Prince of Persia </i>and <i>Rampage </i>are perfectly serviceable fluff, they are way overshadowed by the unbearable awfulness of a <i>Lara Croft: Tomb Raider</i>, or a <i>Max Payne</i>, or whatever hot turd Uwe Boll is serving up that month. We have gone through the disappointment too many times to believe it when a director promises to stick to the source material, but eyebrows were raised when it came to the inevitable movie adaptation of Ubisoft's hugely successful <i>Assassin's Creed </i>series, which plunged you into a centuries-old battle between the Knights Templar and a shadowy group known as the Assassins. Not only was Justin Kurzel, director of the truly unsettling Australian drama <i>Snowtown </i>and Shakespeare epic <i>Macbeth</i>, to helm the film, but Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, two of the most respected actors in the business, were also signed up for the leads. Could this be the movie to finally bridge the two mediums and match the success of its source material?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The short answer is no, but by no means is <i>Assassin's Creed </i>a complete disaster. Its main problem is that it depicts two worlds from two different periods in time, but forgets to make them both interesting. We have the Inquisition-era Madrid, where hooded assassins move stealthily through the crowd armed with daggers and their wits, as they attempt to bring down those in power who seek peace in the land through control. The Assassins also long for peace, but peace gained through freedom, and they don't want a McGuffin known as the Apple of Eden, which somehow possesses the power to block humanity's free will, falling into their hands. This war has raged on for centuries, and in the modern era - a glum grey world full of murky corridors and empty rooms - the Templar continue their search for the Apple, employing a new technology that allows people to travel into the memories of their ancestors, to track down the allusive object through the centuries. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We spend the bulk of the time in the present day, as convicted criminal Cal Lynch (Fassbender) is saved from the electric chair by Sofia (Cotillard) and spends much of his time brooding in his cell over the murder of his mother. I get the feeling that writers Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage want to keep you in the dark about who the good guys are here, but as soon as Jeremy Irons arrives with his black turtleneck sweater, you pretty much know how this is going to play out. The plot is an odd mixture of overly complicated and incredibly stupid, and much of the screentime is spent having these characters explain it to each other and the audience, or at least those in the crowd who have never played the game (like myself). When Cal finally straps up and enter the body of his ancestor Aguilar de Nerha, the movie springs into life, although this bleached-out world of questionable special effects and wannabe-Indiana Jones action may have seemed all the more exiting by the sheer dreariness of the alternative. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Kurzel">Justin Kurzel</a></div>
<div>
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Fassbender">Michael Fassbender</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Cotillard">Marion Cotillard</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Irons">Jeremy Irons</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Gleeson">Brendan Gleeson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Rampling">Charlotte Rampling</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_K._Williams">Michael Kenneth Williams</a></div>
<div>
Country: USA/France/UK/Hong Kong/Taiwan/Malta</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Rating: **</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Tom Gillespie</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B01MZ06EX2&asins=B01MZ06EX2&linkId=fcd3a3d2086d58375490427c976a3038&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></div>
<div>
</iframe></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C2e6Oruy_fA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C2e6Oruy_fA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt2094766" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2094766/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Assassin's Creed (2016) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-90331870224832726972019-05-11T11:40:00.000+01:002019-05-11T11:40:52.874+01:00Review #1,477: 'Phantom Lady' (1944)German-born filmmaker Robert Siodmak fleed Adolf Hitler twice throughout his career, journeying to and flourishing in France after Joseph Goebbels called him out in the press, and later in Hollywood as the Nazis spread through Europe. It was in the U.S. that he made the pictures he is now most fondly remembered for: tough, dark and distinctly unpretentious <i>film noirs </i>like <i>The Killers</i>, <i>The Dark Mirror</i>, <i>Cry of the City </i>and <i>Criss Cross</i>, many of which are considered some of the best the genre has to offer. Before he was allowed the chance to place his stamp on his works, Siodmak churned out screwball comedies like <i>Fly-by-Night </i>and even a Universal horror film, <i>Son of Dracula</i>. His first venture into <i>noir </i>came in 1944 with <i>Phantom Lady</i>, a film that leaned more towards Hitchcockian thriller territory than the hard-boiled crime dramas that would come later.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl7U77qd7Evk-DMz6C83ZIV41tu9URen2JMuM8xaDz0HZJA-O2Uhc1YcoSIBnbvWwg_vvCYNpxqbEo-Jx9FhS1Td1LHM-Wm6JuXBN48czJS-42aR-x47JwlyEOAi0VMlqMXlHZ2EolunGh/s1600/phantomlady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="645" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl7U77qd7Evk-DMz6C83ZIV41tu9URen2JMuM8xaDz0HZJA-O2Uhc1YcoSIBnbvWwg_vvCYNpxqbEo-Jx9FhS1Td1LHM-Wm6JuXBN48czJS-42aR-x47JwlyEOAi0VMlqMXlHZ2EolunGh/s320/phantomlady.jpg" width="320" /></a>Every great <i>noir </i>needs a chump, and we are introduced to <i>Phantom Lady</i>'s unfortunate patsy Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis) as he sits slumped at a bar. He has tickets for a show but his date has stood him up, so he innocently asks the only female in the bar, played by Fay Helm, if she will accompany him. The woman, whose name we don't learn until much later in the film, is clearly emotionally unstable, initially turning down Scott's offer before agreeing under strict terms: they won't reveal their names or discuss anything personal. They go to see the show, where the mystery woman's rather outrageous hat is also being worn by the star on the stage, Estela Monteiro (Aurora Miranda), enraging her and amusing the diminutive band drummer Cliff (Elisha Cook Jr.). The night ends with a hurried goodbye, and Scott returns home to find three policemen waiting for him. As they lead him to the bedroom, his wife lays dead, strangled with one of Scott's own neckties.<br />
<br />
Of course, Scott has a perfect alibi, but he never learned her name, and everybody they encountered that night - a bartender, a taxi driver, and even Monteiro - all deny seeing the woman. Facing the death penalty, Scott's only hope to unravel the mystery is his beautiful and loyal secretary Carol (Ella Raines) and sympathetic Police Inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez). <i>Phantom Lady</i>'s biggest failing in trying to replicate the genius of Hitchcock is the near complete absence of suspense. The wrongfully-accused thriller was done far better by the man himself over a decade later with <i>The Wrong Man</i>, and when Scott's old pal Jack Marlow (Franchot Tone) shows up halfway through, all sense of whodunit goes flying out the window. Still, <i>Phantom Lady </i>gets by on sheer class. Siodmak elevates the plot-hole ridden story with his trademark weaving of light and dark, and influences brought over from the days of German Expressionism makes this a more visually stimulating experience. It's also a lot of fun: the outrageous plot shares more in common with an Argento <i>giallo </i>than a Raymond Chandler paperback.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Siodmak">Robert Siodmak</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franchot_Tone">Franchot Tone</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Raines">Ella Raines</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Curtis_(American_actor)">Alan Curtis</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_Miranda">Aurora Miranda</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Gomez">Thomas Gomez</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Helm">Fay Helm</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha_Cook_Jr.">Elisha Cook Jr.</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ****</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07LD4R4LJ&asins=B07LD4R4LJ&linkId=0755e8c72213a06b82444b2f4889757c&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iH5ZPIsI6-M/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iH5ZPIsI6-M?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt0036260" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036260/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Phantom Lady (1944) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-83896746099843336092019-05-06T12:42:00.000+01:002019-05-06T12:42:39.134+01:00Review #1,476: 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019)It feels like an eternity since the bald, purple alien madman Thanos (Josh Brolin) assembled his impressive gauntlet with all of the infinity stones and snapped half of our universe out of existence. It was a bold move by writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and although there were many fanboys in the crowd who knew beforehand that what they were seeing was essentially the first part of two-act structure, the sight of many beloved superheroes dissolving into nothingness was a shock for those who had never read a comic-book in their life.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrg3Xd74mA2FBIllQ4vwUxRK2HixzFe76ypD0XV0iY_bUznx8ZjnOa-AjtOHQ_YXd2q4Mn0WpgFfHD5uAfj3eejPqC8nPH2qAekvYsJN0nvud2Albxr3JQVuSxS4PTKHn-MRHJAZ8TumNi/s1600/avengersendgame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrg3Xd74mA2FBIllQ4vwUxRK2HixzFe76ypD0XV0iY_bUznx8ZjnOa-AjtOHQ_YXd2q4Mn0WpgFfHD5uAfj3eejPqC8nPH2qAekvYsJN0nvud2Albxr3JQVuSxS4PTKHn-MRHJAZ8TumNi/s320/avengersendgame.jpg" width="320" /></a>It's actually only been a year since <i>Avengers: Infinity War</i>, but the secrecy surrounding the plot of <i>Avengers: Endgame </i>(the title was only revealed a few months ago) has kept audiences desperate to see how the remaining heroes will react to their failure. The main question hanging over <i>Endgame</i>'s head is how they will handle the devastation left over by <i>Infinity War</i>, and whether certain characters who met their demise last time around will in fact stay dead, or, as is the case in the comic-books, find their way back into the story via one of various means (cloning, parallel universes, time travel, etc.).<br />
<br />
Without spoiling anything, <i>Endgame </i>establishes quite early on that there are indeed irreversible consequences to Thanos' victory, and no amount of magic or technological advancement can set things back to how they were. The decimation happened, and those lucky, or unlucky, enough to be left behind are forced to deal with it. Those that didn't fall victim to the snap consist of the original Avengers crew - Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), who we find drifting hopelessly in space with only Karen Gillan's Nebula for company.<br />
<br />
There's also Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, an integral member of the crew and surprise no-show in <i>Infinity War</i>, who perhaps has more reason than anybody to avenge the loss of half of all life. The sight of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) disappearing before our eyes may have been shocking, but <i>Endgame</i>'s opening scene pulls the snap right back to a personal level. With his family gone, Hawkeye adopts a new persona and has taken it upon himself to take out criminal organisations Punisher-style.<br />
<br />
As the trailer pointed out, people find a way to move on, but our heroes don't. Bolstered by the arrival of uber-powerful hero Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), the gang - along with Don Cheadle's War Machine and Bradley Cooper's Rocket - head into space to make Thanos pay for what he has done. Naturally, things don't go quite according to plan, but when Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) - previously believed to have been a victim when in fact he was trapped in the Quantum Realm - re-emerges with Pym technology and an ambitious plan, the Avengers are handed a glimmer of hope.<br />
<br />
I'm deliberately leaving out specific plot points for fear of spoilers. This is a three-hour film, but every second counts in some way to moving the complex plot forward or explaining the mind-bending mechanics at work. While <i>Infinity War </i>barely paused for breath, <i>Endgame </i>begins on a sombre note, before launching us into a breathlessly exciting second act that serves as both as inventive way for our heroes to stand a fighting chance, and a celebration of Marvel's ground-breaking 22-film, 11-year spanning arc.<br />
<br />
The third act, a colossal battle between the forces of good and evil that is almost too overwhelming to comprehend, throws lots of fancy effects and punch-ups at the screen. In most other big-budget epics, these climactic smack-downs are when my attention start to wander, but here they are involve characters I have watched evolve over the course of a decade and have grown to love, and when that Alan Silverstri score kicks in at just the right moment, the heart-flutters are inescapable. I'd also be lying if I said I didn't well up on multiple occasions. After all, we knew contracts were up and we'd be forced to say goodbye to at least one of the original heroes, but the future also looks bright for Marvel. For the moment, until <i>Spider-Man: Far from Home </i>arrives in a couple of months at least, <i>Endgame </i>is a near-perfect way to wrap up 11 years of storytelling and character-building, and a warm thank you to the fans who have been there since 2008.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo_brothers">Anthony Russo</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo_brothers">Joe Russo</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Downey_Jr.">Robert Downey Jr.</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Evans_(actor)">Chris Evans</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Ruffalo">Mark Ruffalo</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hemsworth">Chris Hemsworth</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlett_Johansson">Scarlett Johansson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Renner">Jeremy Renner</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Cheadle">Don Cheadle</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rudd">Paul Rudd</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Gillan">Karen Gillan</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ****</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07NNM8C4J&asins=B07NNM8C4J&linkId=a42a7539b4c879d21a8b2bc955d7eded&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JyGGLB542ks/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JyGGLB542ks?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt4154796" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154796/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Avengers: Endgame (2019) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-67723336483164140022019-05-04T20:32:00.000+01:002019-05-04T20:32:38.749+01:00Review #1,475: 'The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part' (2019)Before Phil Lord and Christopher Miller surprised everybody with one of the best films of 2014, the idea of a movie based on a toy line seemed like a rather hopeless idea. Yes, the building blocks and miniature figures of Lego have been adored by both children and adults alike for decades, but they are still produced by a company whose main focus is naturally on your wallets. It felt inevitable that <i>The Lego Movie </i>would be a soulless feature-length advertisement, but not only did it feature some of the most eye-popping CG animation in recent memory (which also felt hand-crafted), it also melted our hearts by taking the action into the real world, where we discover that events are being conjured by the imagination of a young boy. His father, an avid collector played by Will Ferrell, had forgotten the true meaning of playtime. Lego, after all, is about whatever you want it to be.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ICInTxEN5aNklWnrlKFyyYXqJcsBqTGll8urHWteC2yq1KZUtyqadpGzsPZpvuu5cWhSawhni6__rjbdigMSIoufm-bwUCb9j1Cqkxr8DQCPA35wAdbdTey1vWZRy2VwW7CGMQUwbjCz/s1600/thelegomovie2theseconapart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ICInTxEN5aNklWnrlKFyyYXqJcsBqTGll8urHWteC2yq1KZUtyqadpGzsPZpvuu5cWhSawhni6__rjbdigMSIoufm-bwUCb9j1Cqkxr8DQCPA35wAdbdTey1vWZRy2VwW7CGMQUwbjCz/s320/thelegomovie2theseconapart.jpg" width="320" /></a><i>The Lego Movie </i>wasn't just great, it was awesome. It was also unfairly snubbed by the Academy, but with a worldwide box-office gross of just shy of $500 million, Lord and Miller's film was a huge hit and seemingly the beginning of a lucrative new big-screen franchise. <i>The Lego Batman Movie</i> was next, successfully capitalising on the appeal of Will Arnett's supporting character and opening up Lego's own DC universe. The juggernaut started to creak and show signs of fatigue with <i>The Lego Ninjago Movie </i>however, which arrived the same year as <i>Batman</i>, so the brand was allowed a bit of time to breathe before its next instalment. The big question is does <i>The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part </i>steer this yellow-tinged universe back on course, or has it burnt itself out? The good news is that this sequel is far more the former than the latter, but despite the skills of Lord and Miller on the screenplay (Mike Mitchell has moved in to direct), it does suffer slightly from sequelitis.<br />
<br />
The end of <i>The Lego Movie </i>saw the arrival of the real-world family's young girl on the playing field, and with her comes unicorns and Duplo, both unwelcome arrivals in the world built up by the young boy. As a result, Bricksburg has become Apocalypseburg, a <i>Mad Max</i>-esque wasteland turned to dust by the invading Duplo aliens. While Wyldstyle/Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) finds the wastelands a perfect place in which to brood and gaze seriously into the distance, Emmet (Chris Pratt) maintains an upbeat attitude, enthusiastically purchasing his morning coffees and listening to remixes of his favourite song, Everything Is Awesome. Despite being plagued by visions of Armageddon, Emmet builds Lucy their dream home, but their attempts to live a normal life are scuppered by the arrival of intergalactic traveller Sweet Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz), a mini-doll from the 'Systar System' who has come to take the strongest leader away to marry Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (Tiffany Haddish). Naturally, that leader is Batman, and he along with Lucy, Benny (Charlie Day), MetalBeard (Nick Offerman) and Unikitty (Alison Brie), find themselves kidnapped and taken to another galaxy.<br />
<br />
The premise sounds fun and that's precisely what it is. It maintains the madcap energy of the first film and brings back memorable characters, throwing in more meta-jokes and visual gags than you can shake a stick at. But <i>The Lego Movie </i>was fun and so much more, and Lord and Miller really set the bar high for any future sequels. <i>The Second Part </i>keeps the family thread going, this time with Mom (Maya Rudolph) trying to keep the peace between older son and younger daughter, but doesn't bring anything new to the table. One of the funnest aspects of the original was tying to keep up the amount of characters from both pop culture and real life showing their faces, but the supporting cast seems much thinner this time around. There's a joke about Marvel not returning the calls, and in fact no characters from the world of Disney show their faces. More focus could have been given to other DC figures who show up, particularly Channing Tatum's Superman and Jonah Hill's Green Lantern, who both seem to be having a great time behind the microphone. It's still a rollicking ride, and it only seems like a slight let-down because, somehow, we have come to expect something special from these Lego romps. The film boasts a new catchy song called, um, Catchy Song, which warns 'This song's gonna get stuck inside your head." And in your head it will certainly remain, but the rest of the movie sadly won't.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Mitchell_(director)">Mike Mitchell</a><br />
Voices: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Pratt">Chris Pratt</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Banks">Elizabeth Banks</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Arnett">Will Arnett</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_Haddish">Tiffany Haddish</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Beatriz">Stephanie Beatriz</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Rudolph">Maya Rudolph</a><br />
Country: Denmark/Norway/Australia/USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ***</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07NDYTZ9V&asins=B07NDYTZ9V&linkId=ef8210c8a82a6c15c31c13f86c352a99&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/11K013qpRR4/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/11K013qpRR4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt3513498" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3513498/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-3472215554799175912019-05-03T20:30:00.000+01:002019-05-03T20:30:03.389+01:00Review #1,474: 'Amour' (2012)Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke has been provoking - often outright antagonising - his audiences for decades, from the home invasion horror of <i>Funny Games</i>, to the ugly suburban murder of <i>Benny's Video</i>, to the bleak, post-apocalyptic vision of the future from <i>Time of the Wolf</i>. His 2012 effort, <i>Amour</i>, winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, is his most compassionate film to date, although Haneke's compassion still feels like a sledgehammer to the chest and a knife to the heart. The title, which translates as 'love' from French, is about precisely that, but this is not the syrupy, sentimental love we're used to from cinema, but the kind experienced by any couples lucky enough to have enjoyed a long-lasting relationship into old age.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVLIPk5WN-nRaxuvDl8V3gm09nR10nWzpgiJ6kFOYfZr_F710XIlcyDm22xOlWHxHlzrk9o5nEZLhK3Jcxu9UvgBf2OJ8csTGdgjB8IF8xz9p69XhJed4LlUZStbKLhHZnib7hO06NKqO/s1600/amour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVLIPk5WN-nRaxuvDl8V3gm09nR10nWzpgiJ6kFOYfZr_F710XIlcyDm22xOlWHxHlzrk9o5nEZLhK3Jcxu9UvgBf2OJ8csTGdgjB8IF8xz9p69XhJed4LlUZStbKLhHZnib7hO06NKqO/s320/amour.jpg" width="320" /></a>The couple are retired music teachers Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva), who both enjoy a comfortable bourgeois lifestyle in Paris. We are introduced to this grey-haired pair as they attend the concert of Alexandre (Alexandre Tharaud), one of Anne's former star pupils, and their subsequent car journey home. This is the only glimpse we are allowed of their everyday life, as once they arrive home to discover that someone has attempted to break in, we never leave the building again. The next morning, as they sit down to breakfast, Anne becomes unresponsive, gazing blankly into space as Georges tries to snap her out of it. Before the old man can get help, she is back to normal, completely unaware of this momentary void. Anne has suffered a stroke, and after an operation on her blocked carotid artery goes wrong, she is left wheelchair-bound and paralysed down one side.<br />
<br />
In anybody else's hands, this could be a story of overcoming hopelessness and helplessness, and of a couple undeterred in the face of looming death. But Haneke isn't interesting in sentiment, and opts instead to observe the loving couple as Anne deteriorates further, pleading for an end to the pain and humiliation after a second stroke, while Georges cares for her as best as he can. Anne makes her husband promise never to take her back to the hospital, so their apartment becomes a tomb where any visitor is an unwelcome intrusion. Their daughter Eva (Isabelle Huppert) makes the occasional visit from London, where she lives with her British husband Geoff (William Shimell), to offer help, but she doesn't understand the emptiness of her offer. She isn't there for the diaper changes, the periods when Anne can do nothing but moan in pain, and Georges' struggle to move her whenever she needs to visit the bathroom.<br />
<br />
It's tough, gruelling stuff, but it's heartbreaking in a way that anybody in a loving relationship can relate to. It's something we simultaneously hope to reach and ultimately dread, and there's a real unflinching honesty in the way Georges and Anne react to their new predicament. The idea that old age eventually catches up to everybody is hammered home by the casting of Trintignant and Riva, who have naturally grown into their 80s and are barely recognisable from their glamorous 60's heyday. However, <i>Amour </i>is not an exercise in misery. Haneke handles these characters with incredible delicacy, hinting at an unshakeable bond that, despite a few wobbles down the years, has only strengthened with time and has long since evolved into something greater than the word love can truly express. <i>Amour </i>certainly puts you through the ringer, but you'll likely emerge with a greater appreciation for your loved one.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Haneke">Michael Haneke</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Louis_Trintignant">Jean-Louis Trintignant</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuelle_Riva">Emmanuelle Riva</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabelle_Huppert">Isabelle Huppert</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Tharaud">Alexandre Tharaud</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shimell">William Shimell</a><br />
Country: Austria/France/Germany<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: <span style="color: red;">*****</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B00A2P503A&asins=B00A2P503A&linkId=f405228a1b8dc3a23e3f3501b8829e11&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6Tuc3zjvJU8/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6Tuc3zjvJU8?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt1602620" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1602620/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Amour (2012) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-26670886891409949872019-04-30T20:27:00.000+01:002019-04-30T20:27:13.989+01:00Review #1,473: 'Monsters vs. Aliens' (2009)When it comes to big-screen animation, it's pretty widely accepted that Pixar frequently mines critical and commercial gold whilst their biggest rival, Dreamworks Animation, provides the fluff. Pixar certainly possess the largest awards cabinet, but Dreamworks know how to attract an audience, with the likes of <i>Shrek</i>, <i>Madagascar</i>, <i>Kung Fu Panda </i>and <i>How to Train Your Dragon </i>all developing into successful franchises with memorable characters. With the market now aggressively over-saturated with animated efforts for the whole family, a few of their titles have flown under the radar, and sometimes unfairly. 2009's <i>Monsters vs. Aliens </i>is one such example: a fun, funny and heartfelt throwback to 50's B-movies that spawned some spin-off shorts, but wasn't successful enough to warrant a sequel.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMO65b8yVCHYgeidqj4FE-VNarTlX9-UR2Nifw0MdvsRvx5RoFO3_jafTtYAd1Waxbcb1GKYggiw6-piFiEkYR36Pt9uQR5NbS48lr7DSOy6utNeV_b2jF87-pl_3Gj2xccYJzS7iXZR0/s1600/monstersvsaliens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMO65b8yVCHYgeidqj4FE-VNarTlX9-UR2Nifw0MdvsRvx5RoFO3_jafTtYAd1Waxbcb1GKYggiw6-piFiEkYR36Pt9uQR5NbS48lr7DSOy6utNeV_b2jF87-pl_3Gj2xccYJzS7iXZR0/s320/monstersvsaliens.jpg" width="320" /></a>In California, Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) is waiting to marry her vain TV weatherman fiance Derek (Paul Rudd), who has just announced the news of a job offer in another state. Before the wedding ceremony kicks off however, a huge asteroid crashes down on top of Susan. and although she appears unaffected at first, the mysterious energy given off by the rock causes her to grow to enormous size. With her head now peaking through the roof and the guests running for their lives, the military are quick on the scene, capturing Susan and taker her to a secret government facility ran by General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland), who has been hoarding a collection of strange monsters for decades.<br />
<br />
There she meets fellow captives B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), a boneless blob of blue goo; Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie), a genius half-man, half-insect; The Missing Link (Will Arnett), a hybrid of sea creature and ape, and Insectosaurus, a gargantuan mutated bug. Their futures look increasingly bleak, but when alien Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) arrives on Earth in search of the crashed meteorite, US President Hathaway (Stephen Colbert), gives Monger the go-ahead to put his freaky prisoners to the test and straight into battle with the intergalactic invader.<br />
<br />
B-movie fans will spot the homages immediately, and there's enough of a modern twist to the rag-tag gang of 'monsters' to delight any children watching. The references are obvious: there's <i>Attack of the 50 Foot Woman</i>, <i>The Blob</i>, <i>The Fly</i>, <i>Creature from the Black Lagoon</i> and <i>Mothra</i>, but the characters are so lovingly crafted and terrifically voiced by a talented cast that they feel more love letter than straight rip-off. Although there are a few laugh-out-loud moments, Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon's film, working from a script by no less than five writers, fails to be consistently funny, and the arrival of Gallaxhar is a one-note plot device designed to bring everybody together. But there are some exciting set-pieces, particularly whenever the weirdly adorable Insectosaurus is involved, and there is enough heart woven into its fabric to make <i>Monsters vs. Aliens </i>one of Dreamworks' most underappreciated animations.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Letterman">Rob Letterman</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Vernon">Conrad Vernon</a><br />
Voices: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reese_Witherspoon">Reese Witherspoon</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Rogen">Seth Rogen</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Laurie">Hugh Laurie</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Arnett">Will Arnett</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiefer_Sutherland">Kiefer Sutherland</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainn_Wilson">Rainn Wilson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert">Stephen Colbert</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rudd">Paul Rudd</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ***</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B002BH3IWM&asins=B002BH3IWM&linkId=b1ca31c84d0fcea708b82bb299e3b32f&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-ciUH9qJ-d8/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ciUH9qJ-d8?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt0892782" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892782/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-15959107382742738392019-04-25T15:19:00.000+01:002019-04-25T15:19:30.586+01:00Review #1,472: 'Revenge of the Boogeyman' (1983)If there was ever a horror film that didn't require a sequel, Ulli Lommel's cult 1980 hit <i>The Boogeyman </i>is it. Telling the story of two siblings who accidentally release the spirit of their mother's dead boyfriend via a magical mirror, <i>The Boogeyman </i>is a hokey, stupid, and instantly forgettable film, although I can understand why certain fans of the genre may hold it in higher esteem. Following its surprisingly successful limited run, Paramount Pictures were keen to hand Lommel, a bad-boy German arthouse director, a substantially larger budget for the follow-up, but the filmmaker became annoyed at their refusal to allow him to work on other projects outside the realm of horror.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGgYDKwDGbHn6ULUuP1at1ejKvXtdoyMj1IAAQoe3DMUIAUwbFXNcuV5orMI9RZua3QCEfqwuP5jS6oaXZ0cid-3D1nLcsoh_4ZSkGbJctT2VLEwZTqbBXaibcBFK_ZyvhZ42SWqZZsmq/s1600/revengeoftheboogeyman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="1150" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGgYDKwDGbHn6ULUuP1at1ejKvXtdoyMj1IAAQoe3DMUIAUwbFXNcuV5orMI9RZua3QCEfqwuP5jS6oaXZ0cid-3D1nLcsoh_4ZSkGbJctT2VLEwZTqbBXaibcBFK_ZyvhZ42SWqZZsmq/s320/revengeoftheboogeyman.jpg" width="320" /></a>Lommel eventually made <i>Revenge of the Boogeyman</i>, or simply <i>Boogeyman II</i>, out of sheer frustration, and the result was one of the most notoriously terrible movies ever made. You get the sense that the sequel is one giant middle-finger to all those pesky studio heads who were only interested in squeezing some quick cash out of a mediocre horror film that proved an unexpected hit with the horror crowd. Lommel even casts himself as a movie director tasked with adapting the events of the first film for the big screen, who also questions Hollywood's opportunistic, closed-minded approach. You could almost admire Lommel's arrogance if <i>Revenge of the Boogeyman </i>didn't also feel like a huge middle-finger to the audience, who are not only forced to sit through some of the most laughable and badly-constructed set-pieces ever committed to screen, but also over forty minutes of flashbacks which consist of recycled footage from the previous film.<br />
<br />
The 'story' follows lone survivor Lacey (Suzanna Love) as she travels to Hollywood to stay with friends and recuperate after the trauma she suffered at the hands of the 'boogeyman'. After recapping her tale, she is quickly pounced on by a bunch of Hollywood types who are keen to profit on her misery. God knows why, but Lacey carries a piece of the cursed broken mirror with her wherever she goes, so it isn't long until the party guests start turning up dead. And how spectacularly they die. There's death by toothbrush, death by exhaust pipe through the mouth after being hit on the backside by a ladder, and worst of all, death by that most terrifying of household items, shaving foam. Looking as though it was shot over a weekend and patched together without any resemblance of a script, <i>Revenge of the Boogeyman </i>is an insult to film and filmmakers, and anyone seeking to find the most reprehensible of all the 'video nasties' need look no further. To make matters worse, Lommel went back to try and salvage the film, releasing a 'Redux' version in 2003. Apparently, somehow, it's even worse.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulli_Lommel">Ulli Lommel</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanna_Love">Suzanna Love</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulli_Lommel">Ulli Lommel</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0356094/?ref_=tt_cl_t3">Shannah Hall</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0902196/?ref_=tt_cl_t4">Sholto von Douglas</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0742524/?ref_=tt_cl_t5">Bob Rosenfarb</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: *</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B000127MGW&asins=B000127MGW&linkId=b91ad93fe25e92e181bee9564a47264d&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Xtw8RFT4f9A/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xtw8RFT4f9A?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt0085266" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085266/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Boogeyman II (1983) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script><div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com/p/the-video-nasty-project.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="400" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTYsmoQIxQsuq-exe2nBn7lmRfIAih5BJySKV4kyG1YVMInXwPPxs6_touKnQAUO5t_v55_frCj5wX-4qFcO6Cz5Izp3hoe1dE3kZCUsqK0nUYJO32PMnuCNqN4IattpQjEUd5WYaIP_1/s400/TheVideoNastyProject.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-39038697597445344482019-04-24T10:41:00.000+01:002019-04-24T10:41:12.647+01:00Review #1,471: 'The Sisters Brothers' (2018)French filmmaker Jacques Audiard has made a name for himself by focusing on morally-conflicted lead characters surviving any way they can in an environment they have no real control over. Whether it be the brutal prison setting of <i>A Prophet</i>, the street brawls of <i>Rust and Bone</i>, or the Sri Lanka torn apart by civil war in <i>Dheepan</i>, Audiard seems most at home when tossing his lead character in the deep end and observing as the survival instincts inevitably kick in. There is perhaps no greater time and place to explore humanity at its most savage and uncivilised as the Wild West, so Audiard feels right at home among the shootouts, saloon fights and general lawlessness of his latest film, the curiously-titled <i>The Sisters Brothers</i>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTIsx6dMElMBPpnzo8r_hnEMcIZxXyLMH8rK3oCy36lXPxjlFdYMKEFyi90D58bq_RubreTmU911rJ3zagbIeNabr-UujMs1HDU704wPYnDNh4j26wt_bFozmbiBnRFVtDGKQiYw5fDcv/s1600/thesistersbrothers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTIsx6dMElMBPpnzo8r_hnEMcIZxXyLMH8rK3oCy36lXPxjlFdYMKEFyi90D58bq_RubreTmU911rJ3zagbIeNabr-UujMs1HDU704wPYnDNh4j26wt_bFozmbiBnRFVtDGKQiYw5fDcv/s320/thesistersbrothers.jpg" width="320" /></a>Based on the novel by Patrick deWitt, <i>The Sisters Brothers </i>follows the titular siblings Eli (John C. Reilly) and Charlie (Joaquin Phoenix), two apparent opposites who seem to tolerate each other for their shared bloodline only. While their overall outlook on life couldn't be further apart, one skill the pair undoubtedly share is a knack for killing, and their exploits have granted them an almost mythical status throughout the land. They are hired killers in the employment of a shady businessman known only as the Commodore (Rutger Hauer), and their latest job is to track down and kill chemist Hermann Kermit Warm (Riz Ahmed), who has supposedly stolen from the old man. Their journey takes them from Jacksonville to San Francisco, but the mission is plagued by misfortune. Encountering everything from bear attacks to venomous spiders to rival hired hands, these mishaps allow plenty of time for the brothers to reflect on their life choices and their future, if they are ever to make it out alive.<br />
<br />
As the elder of the brothers, Reilly's Eli hopes to eventually settle down and walk away from a life where death seems to await them at every turn. The drunken, unpredictable Charlie believes their lives couldn't get any better, and cannot imagine a world where his brother is not at his side. Little by little their backstories are revealed, and although he shares his younger sibling's flair for murder, it becomes clear that Eli's life would have turned out quite differently if he wasn't forced to pick up the pieces left in the wake of Charlie's destructive nature. The two actors are so good together that the film slows down when the action moves away from them, and more time is spent developing the relationship between Warm and softly-spoken private detective John Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal). Morris is actually working with the Sisters, but has a change of heart when Warm reveals his water-based formula that will potentially turn the tide for gold prospecting.<br />
<br />
While these little detours slightly derail the film's pace, they prove intriguing enough in their own right. Despite the brutality of their surroundings and the natural hostility of the unexplored frontier, Warm and Morris are tidier, more articulate, and completely at odds with the survivalist nature of the anti-heroes of the title. They hint at a changing world, and the way the Old West is imagined by cinematographer Benoit Debie - shot in Spain - would be more at home with the auteur-driven revisionist westerns of the 1970s, but not so different to cause traditionalists to scoff. The key ingredients are all there: bursts of violence, whiskey-drenched brothel visits, and a long, perilous journey across country; but there is a sensitive, character-driven drama at its core. It was billed as a comedy of sorts upon its release, and although there are certainly laugh-out-loud moments, they serve only to reinforce the humanity lurking within its murky characters.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Audiard">Jacques Audiard</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Reilly">John C. Reilly</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquin_Phoenix">Joaquin Phoenix</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Gyllenhaal">Jake Gyllenhaal</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riz_Ahmed">Riz Ahmed</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Root">Rebecca Root</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutger_Hauer">Rutger Hauer</a><br />
Country: France/Spain/Romania/Belgium/USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ****</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07Q38PW6S&asins=B07Q38PW6S&linkId=9211bf7d89904e06910106e109840b3e&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AaCGqfn_qzs/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AaCGqfn_qzs?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt4971344" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4971344/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="The Sisters Brothers (2018) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-90973257482762602252019-04-19T19:49:00.000+01:002019-04-19T19:49:00.466+01:00Review #1,470: 'Glass' (2019)When M. Night Shyamalan's <i>Split </i>came out three years ago, I doubt anybody was expecting what appeared to be a relatively low-key kidnap thriller to eventually reveal itself as a supervillain origin story of sorts, as well as a sequel to the director's finest film, <i>Unbreakable</i>, released a whopping 16 years previous. Despite its flaws, <i>Split </i>was a success with audiences, and it seemed that Shyamalan's reputation - relegated to near-joke status following a string of utter stinkers like <i>Lady in the Water</i>, <i>The Happening </i>and <i>The Last Airbender</i> - was starting to claw its way back to the dizzy heights of his early career, when he was dubbed the next Steven Spielberg after scaring audiences with <i>The Sixth Sense </i>and, to a lesser degree, <i>Signs</i>. Shyamalan doesn't do middle-of-the-road. He's either at the top of his game or testing our patience, but <i>Glass</i>, the inevitable third instalment of this 19-years-in-the-making trilogy, may be the first time he's dabbled with both extremes.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4kwbfE-nnW3N5eGrOVkFBbatOR4eUojd53NlsyF80NF7hWGcIypkG7V60v05ztMv5WtradSucx4UCzWsCOMRNyTeUqVuDFAAy9ve9BZRM1iY3_auXK1QZaYD1K4RItWVZxx-flu9vLt6/s1600/glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1600" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4kwbfE-nnW3N5eGrOVkFBbatOR4eUojd53NlsyF80NF7hWGcIypkG7V60v05ztMv5WtradSucx4UCzWsCOMRNyTeUqVuDFAAy9ve9BZRM1iY3_auXK1QZaYD1K4RItWVZxx-flu9vLt6/s320/glass.jpg" width="320" /></a>Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), the abusive victim whose 23 other personalities serve to protect him, is still at large. His activities have led to the press dubbing him 'The Horde', and he is currently holed up with four young cheerleaders, the next potential victims of his cannibalistic hunger and his most feared personality of all, the hulking 'Beast'. Meanwhile, super-strong David Dunn (Bruce Willis) juggles his time between running a security business with his son Joseph (an all-grown-up Spencer Treat Clark), and fighting crime.<br />
<br />
On top of being damn near indestructible, David - named 'The Overseer' by fans of his work - can also sniff out crime by mere touch, and a chance encounter with Crumb leads him to an abandoned warehouse, where the girls wait bound and terrified. The two superhumans slug it out, but before one can outmatch the other, they are set on by a SWAT team directed by the unnervingly mild-mannered psychologist Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson). She specialises in cases in which the patient believes they are a comic-book character, and takes David and Kevin to a grungy institution where an old friend awaits them.<br />
<br />
The old friend, of course, is Samuel L. Jackon's Elijah Price, aka Mr. Glass, named after the rare brittle-bone disease from which he suffers. <i>Split </i>is still fresh in the memory, but if - like me - you haven't seen <i>Unbreakable </i>since it was released 19 years ago, it may take a while to fill in the blanks, because Shyamalan isn't willing to refresh your memory. Glass was an intriguing (and surprising) foe for David last time around, but would a man who is simply more intelligent than most really be lumped into the same category as a man who can survive a train crash and another who can scale bare walls? Nevertheless, the actors are all on top form, with Willis' gruff, underplayed performance finding a nice balance with McAvoy's manic character-switching, and when he isn't being laboured with exposition, Jackson has fun as the guy who is always one step ahead.<br />
<br />
The strength of the performances makes it seem as though all of the movie's budget went into paying the actors to up their game, as it's difficult to judge where else it was spent. The first two-thirds builds an intriguing atmosphere, despite spending too much time pondering the question of what it would be like if superheroes really existed (doesn't every superhero film tackle this in one form or another?). Shyamalan blows it in the last act, delivering an underwhelming showdown that will leave audiences wondering what the hell the writer/director was thinking. It won't have many calling for more from this unexpected cinematic universe, but it's certainly worth a gamble.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Night_Shyamalan">M. Night Shyamalan</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McAvoy">James McAvoy</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Willis">Bruce Willis</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_L._Jackson">Samuel L. Jackson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anya_Taylor-Joy">Anya Taylor-Joy</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Paulson">Sarah Paulson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Treat_Clark">Spencer Treat Clark</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlayne_Woodard">Charlayne Woodard</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ***</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07LFT4BBD&asins=B07LFT4BBD&linkId=039eb0de73e198afc93a709a841c370a&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/95ghQs5AmNk/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/95ghQs5AmNk?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt6823368" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6823368/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Glass (2019) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-26941053092484473832019-04-15T14:00:00.000+01:002019-04-15T14:00:08.806+01:00Review #1,469: 'How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World' (2019)Loosely based on the series of books by Cressida Cowell, the <i>How to Train Your Dragon </i>series has grown to become the jewel in the somewhat small and dusty crown of Dreamworks Animation. With Pixar killing it near enough year in, year out, the adventures of reluctant Viking leader Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his trusted Night Fury pal are the closest thing that Dreamworks have ever come to the quality and visual splendour of its most fearsome rivals. If you've kept up with the series since its debut in 2010, you'll have watched Hiccup grow out of his father's shadow into a battle-scarred warrior and forward-thinking frontiersman, who brought a close to his tribe's never-ending war with the dragons to discover the fire-breathing beasts actually make for useful and loving friends. The second instalment veered into incredibly dark territory, signalling a maturing tone that matched the protagonist's transformation from nervous kid to an innovator destined to change the lives of his people forever.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwLfq3aypaTSq1398rcrH_PNi6WW6bTAtpqkjxSrUY-IYFF7MC-h-170paoIhgSBiE_AZHj9R5g2hSpbpe7aEjbkrr-r5OMmRUrayo8-pL-MP3D7GK48JTOmTFw0deC9U0LiqVOgaqt7C/s1600/howtotrainyourdragonthehiddenworld.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="931" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwLfq3aypaTSq1398rcrH_PNi6WW6bTAtpqkjxSrUY-IYFF7MC-h-170paoIhgSBiE_AZHj9R5g2hSpbpe7aEjbkrr-r5OMmRUrayo8-pL-MP3D7GK48JTOmTFw0deC9U0LiqVOgaqt7C/s320/howtotrainyourdragonthehiddenworld.jpg" width="320" /></a>The third and presumably final entry into the series, <i>The Hidden World</i>, doesn't darken the tone further - it is still a kids' film after all - but you get the sense from very early on that we are heading inevitably towards an emotional parting of ways. Hiccup and his friends continue their quest to rescue captive dragons and bring them back to the village of Berk to live in harmony with humans. The problem is that they've become so good at their search-and-rescue missions that their home is now overcrowded with the lumbering beasts. Hiccup believes their only hope lies in 'the hidden world, a mysterious and possibly make-believe haven at the edge of the world spoken of by his late father Stoick (Gerard Butler). But cracks start to appear in the young chieftan's plans when his dragon and best friend Toothless happens across a Light Fury, the female of his species. Wild and distrusting of humans, the female bolts from Toothless' advances any time Hiccup shows his face to help, and it becomes clear that if he is ever to see his best bud happy, he must also let his dragon run free.<br />
<br />
As ever, there's a dragon-hating antagonist to jeopardise Hiccup's plans in the form of renowned hunter Grimmel the Grisly (F. Murray Abraham), whose own mind-controlled dragons have the ability to vomit acid and melt pretty much anything in their wake. He certainly looks and sounds cool, but Grimmel shares much of the same motivation as the bad guys that come before him, and the character really symbolises the film's overall reluctance to dig that little bit deeper. For me, <i>How to Train Your Dragon 2 </i>really stepped up the game for this franchise, but it feels like returning director Dean DeBlois is happy to ease off the accelerator and ride this trilogy-closer out. If this were practically any other series, <i>The Hidden World </i>would be a delightful surprise, offering up great moments like the opening night-time raid and the sight of Toothless clumsily attempting win over his potential mate, the latter proving to be one of the most charming and heart-warming scenes of the entire trilogy. But with the knowledge of how great this could have been, <i>The Hidden World </i>is a disappointment, fizzling out with an ending that undoubtedly satisfies, but when compared to the emotional wallop of, say, <i>Toy Story 3</i>, plays it rather safe.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_DeBlois">Dean DeBlois</a><br />
Voices: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Baruchel">Jay Baruchel</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_Ferrera">America Ferrera</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Murray_Abraham">F. Murray Abraham</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cate_Blanchett">Cate Blanchett</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Butler">Gerard Butler</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Ferguson">Craig Ferguson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah_Hill">Jonah Hill</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Mintz-Plasse">Christopher Mintz-Plasse</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ***</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07N23MBPP&asins=B07N23MBPP&linkId=b8c11f684b444b8ca7dbbaea00ea8d81&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SkcucKDrbOI/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SkcucKDrbOI?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt2386490" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2386490/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-90535888079945342242019-04-10T19:04:00.000+01:002019-04-10T19:04:26.488+01:00Review #1,468: 'Dead Snow' (2009)When it comes to B-movie hooks, they don't come any more mouth-watering than the promise of a horde of Nazi zombies stalking a group of horny, dim-witted teenagers. The set-up mirrors that of countless slasher and zombie movies, and writer/director Tommy Wirkola is more than happy than roll with the genre tropes. Wirkola even places a chubby film buff amongst the crowd of soon-to-be Nazi chow so he can throw in a few nods and winks to an already knowing audience as they trudge through the Norwegian snow to the cabin in the woods that awaits them. But even he is too dim to recognise the obvious danger that waits in store for them, and just like the movies <i>Dead Snow </i>is paying homage to, you wait with eagerness for their inevitable and gory demise. Fans of classic horrors <i>The Evil Dead </i>and <i>Dawn of the Dead </i>will lap it up, but <i>Dead Snow </i>takes far too long to find its stride. But by the end, those lucky enough to remain breathing finally pluck up the courage to fight back with the few tools at their disposal, and the barrage of blood, guts and Nazi corpses is just enough to make it worth the wait.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4GZ-H4CbWv7AklZMQibDZd8DTbOt7HkpFRgAf_X_mxh0nEhCNR4LJMOGyN46bjz7UIKY6R3TtgGJCbF6Dso_YXWriu6MiR-J7q9Dvg6oId0FkSnPswAPEVvX-TbkZ4s4ufKdB-niZl1I/s1600/deadsnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4GZ-H4CbWv7AklZMQibDZd8DTbOt7HkpFRgAf_X_mxh0nEhCNR4LJMOGyN46bjz7UIKY6R3TtgGJCbF6Dso_YXWriu6MiR-J7q9Dvg6oId0FkSnPswAPEVvX-TbkZ4s4ufKdB-niZl1I/s320/deadsnow.jpg" width="320" /></a>The film opens with a terrified young woman being chased through the snow by a group of bloodthirsty zombies dressed in SS uniforms. The woman, who is revealed to be Sara (Ane Dahl Torp), was due to meet up with her medical student friends for a weekend of tobogganing, snow-fights and potential casual sex. Luckily for them, Sarah's friends have decided to travel separately. After an exhausting hike through the mountains, the gang finally arrive at the cabin and immediately start drinking. Although Sara's no-show plays on some of their minds, a party is thrown, and all seems fine and dandy until a mysterious traveller (Bjorn Sundquist) arrives with a history lesson guaranteed to kill their buzz. Decades ago, near the end of World War II, a band of SS officers fled the advancing Russian army and met their end in the unforgiving snowy mountains. Ever since, whispers have been heard of an undead Nazi army roaming the area, killing and eating anyone that stands in their way. They are searching for treasure stolen during the war, and the prize chest just happens to be stored underneath the cabin. Soon enough, one by one, the hapless students start to disappear.<br />
<br />
For the bulk of its running time, <i>Dead Snow </i>covers very familiar terrain, paying tribute to everything from <i>Friday the 13th </i>to <i>The Evil Dead</i>, as well as more recent efforts, such as <i>Scream</i>, which also leaned into genre cliches and employed them as a narrative tool. <i>Dead Snow </i>isn't as clever nor anywhere near as accomplished as those that inspired it, and spends way too much time moving the pieces into place and establishing relationships you'll have forgotten before the credits have rolled. But when Wirkola finally loosens his top button and starts to unleash the carnage, it doesn't fail to disappoint. There's something oddly beautiful about the sight of blood splashed across snow, and <i>Dead Snow </i>has plenty of both. The luscious, tranquil setting is truly glorious to behold, but don't let the beauty fool you, this is a world of deadly avalanches and fascist zombies. Just like in space, nobody can hear you scream in the Oksfjord wilderness, and it may just set off a landslide that will leave you buried beneath six feet of snow. The movie's top tip: before you start to try and dig your way out, be sure to spit so you know which way is up. <i>Dead Snow </i>may not fully grasp the potential of the idea of Nazi brain-munchers hunting their prey, but by the time the hammers and chainsaws are broken out, you'll feel a pleasant wave of satisfaction.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Wirkola">Tommy Wirkola</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0388473/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Vegar Hoel</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stig_Frode_Henriksen">Stig Frode Henriksen</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Frogner">Charlotte Frogner</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1284656/?ref_=tt_cl_t4">Lasse Valdal</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1284277/?ref_=tt_cl_t5">Evy Kasseth Røsten</a><br />
Country: Norway<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ***</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B002B7OM8G&asins=B002B7OM8G&linkId=eeb9c54ce8445eea34539c57f3da41ef&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PrAHR1ykM6c/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PrAHR1ykM6c?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt1278340" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278340/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Dead Snow (2009) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-63503668737052535922019-04-08T19:11:00.000+01:002019-04-08T19:11:41.355+01:00Review #1,467: 'SS Experiment Camp' (1976)Much of the outrage drummed up by so-called 'moral crusaders' concerned with how violent and tasteless movies were affecting our impressionable youth during the 1980s was based primarily on how these types of film advertised themselves. The rise of VHS led to home media companies taking full advantage of highlighting how grisly and amoral the film supposedly was, and this led to the now-iconic covers of <i>The Driller Killer</i>, which depicted a man receiving a nasty drill to the head, and <i>Cannibal Holocaust</i>, which splashed the image of one of the titular flesh-eaters chowing down on some human intestines on its casing. These films were placed on the infamous 'Video Nasty' list in the UK, and the two aforementioned titles are indeed pretty nasty. Others that found themselves on the banned list - that did nothing but provide free promotion - were actually hiding a cheaply-made and laughably executed production underneath. Sergio Carrone's <i>SS Experiment Camp</i>, one of the lesser-seen titles on the list, is one such example.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8_LcGVJt_zJ2w-dQUC52lPIiZbbKMiPurXxqFxeDoBdkmImr_VmSsUQ9xWX56WjADLS3DZm7n6YnyCzlHhz-sZvCYoRonpdHQ39T_GMwvKV6fvo0JbhVX7MMnQN_LOCFod4iOAKFk_V1/s1600/ssexperimentcamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="723" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8_LcGVJt_zJ2w-dQUC52lPIiZbbKMiPurXxqFxeDoBdkmImr_VmSsUQ9xWX56WjADLS3DZm7n6YnyCzlHhz-sZvCYoRonpdHQ39T_GMwvKV6fvo0JbhVX7MMnQN_LOCFod4iOAKFk_V1/s320/ssexperimentcamp.jpg" width="320" /></a>The eponymous camp of the title is a base constructed by the Nazis during World War II to conduct shocking experiments involving attractive Jewish women and some of the Fatherland's most dashing studs. Before being entered into the programme, the women must swear their allegiance to the Fuhrer, otherwise they face torture and eventually a trip into the ovens. Those wise enough to agree to their captors' demands are led to a dorm complete with bunk beds, so the girls can chat like teenagers at a sleepover, and are watched over by a lesbian (what else?) commander. When they are eventually called into action, they must have sex with handsome German men - sometimes even underwater! - while a sympathetic Jewish doctor carries out more sinister experiments with ovary transplants. German officer Helmut (Mircha Carven) ends up falling in love with one of the inmates, and in exchange for her safety, he rather stupidly agrees to take part in a highly secretive experiment with the Colonel von Kleiben (Giorgio Cerioni). Helmut doesn't know it, but von Kleiben has recently lost his balls during the war, and is finding life without intercourse a little hard to take.<br />
<br />
Yes, this is a movie set during one of the greatest tragedies in human history about a guy who loses his gonads and can't have sex with the woman he loves. With a video cover showing a dying woman hung upside down while a smirking Nazi officer looks grimly on, Mary Whitehouse and her cronies likely called for the film to be banned for the gruesome horrors that surely lurked beneath that poster. If they had actually taken the time to watch it, they would probably laugh as dead bodies jerk unconvincingly while dodgy-looking flames bounce in front of them, or be puzzled at why a unit of German soldiers look and act like Italian footballers cracking wise in a changing room. Tasteless? Certainly. Most of the increasingly silly torture scenes focus on the victim's jiggling breasts. Horrifying? Well, yes, but not in the way the film intended. For a film that can boast a scene in which its lead character bursts into a room and asks "what have you been doing with my balls?", <i>SS Experiment Camp </i>is a tedious and repetitive experience. It has some unintentional humour, but then there's 90 additional minutes of atrocious acting and awkward dialogue to wade through. The nazisploitation genre is pure trash but it can occasionally offer the odd guilty pleasure, but this is no <i>Ilsa</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Garrone">Sergio Garrone</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0142535/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Mircha Carven</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179063/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Paola Corazzi</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0148609/?ref_=tt_cl_t3">Giorgio Cerioni</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0537707/?ref_=tt_cl_t4">Giovanna Mainardi</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698495/?ref_=tt_cl_t5">Serafino Profumo</a><br />
Country: Italy<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: *</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B00WWP0FD8&asins=B00WWP0FD8&linkId=eff07d7f8949b9b374e89a2183c5a118&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XW9K3P6H5ag/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XW9K3P6H5ag?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt0074768" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074768/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="SS Experiment Love Camp (1976) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script><div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com/p/the-video-nasty-project.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="400" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxb398Lu6z6beIR9oZuJd1mpnpTsTiVYZAdUNctE7p4akGhGNJeiSYgqbJlely4-xUMSIVwsckK6i0DMzuV-SRDiJWz1CoUcS31x3sFcPgMLplbrD7JwiPgd5CzeweJ3j6XYDSye8LNsHr/s400/TheVideoNastyProject.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-39905800560588381812019-04-03T19:58:00.000+01:002019-04-03T19:58:05.369+01:00Review #1,466: 'Mary Poppins Returns' (2018)With many studios these days greenlighting reboots, spin-offs and remakes, it's actually quite refreshing to get a good old-fashioned sequel to a beloved classic. It worked for <i>Blade Runner</i>, and - somewhat surprisingly - it also works for <i>Mary Poppins</i>. A sequel to Robert Stevenson's 1964 family classic has been stuck in development hell for decades, with original author P. L. Travers proving notoriously difficult to work with. She despised what Walt Disney had done to her work, although she admired certain aspects, so while she was still alive, a follow-up would only see the light of the day on her own very strict terms. We almost saw the return of the nanny who is practically perfect in every way in the 1980s, with a screenplay by Travers and her friend Brian Sibley, but Julie Andrews' reluctance to return meant the film quickly fell apart. Some 55 years later, Poppins finally returns in the form of Emily Blunt, and there is plenty to enjoy for both adults who adored the original growing up and children new to this unique world.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ojvDNSe6VZ3iq23cFjqEHvUo92hblx4XkAuE9d_Zmc0ajKncniY3uI2DzeVugWZj6s1_2xcovjCGA4uo82zBCg-uSL6RAaRYTxc2Gn8-FF9DG9Ocm9523mYjlEhH3rgfyUYysmQA5Rth/s1600/marypoppinsreturns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ojvDNSe6VZ3iq23cFjqEHvUo92hblx4XkAuE9d_Zmc0ajKncniY3uI2DzeVugWZj6s1_2xcovjCGA4uo82zBCg-uSL6RAaRYTxc2Gn8-FF9DG9Ocm9523mYjlEhH3rgfyUYysmQA5Rth/s320/marypoppinsreturns.jpg" width="320" /></a>It's 1930, and siblings Michael (Ben Whishaw) and Jane Banks (Emily Mortimer) are all grown up. They remember the nanny who raised them but believe the magic she displayed was all part of their youthful imaginations. Michael is now a widowed banker and takes after his father, while Jane mirrors her mother in that she is ever the optimist. Still living at Cherry Tree Lane and forced to raise his three children - Annabel (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanael Saleh) and Georgie (Joel Dawson) - on his own, things aren't going well for Michael. With grief consuming him, the bills have gone unpaid, and the bank, headed by new chairman William Wilkins (Colin Firth), have served a notice threatening to repossess the house if the loan isn't paid back in full. Spirits are lifted by the re-appearance of Mary Poppins, who offers to look after the children while the adults get their affairs in order. With the help of cheery Cockney lamplighter Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), Annabel, John and Georgie are whisked off into a world of musical numbers and talking cartoon animals, and learn that when you think you've reached the bottom, the only way is up.<br />
<br />
There's not much going on in terms of plot in <i>Mary Poppins Returns</i>, but things weren't much different last time around. Director Rob Marshall and writer David Magee are far more concerned with pulling you into a fantastical world of catchy songs, breathtaking dance numbers, and lovingly rendered hand-drawn animation. Tunes like 'Tip a Little Light Fantastic' and '(Underneath the) London Sky' are clearly trying to copy iconic moments from the original (with Miranda playing the Dick Van Dyke supporting role), but composer Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman have found a way to wonderfully capture the essence of the original while adding a modern twist. Blunt, who seems to be fan-cast for just about every upcoming role, proves to be the perfect choice for Poppins. Stern but playful, strict yet mischievous, she embraces Andrews' iconic performance and adds much sparkle of her own, displaying a knack for comedy timing that went unjustly unrecognised by the Academy. She wouldn't be complete without an enthusiastic sidekick, and Miranda is on great form, speaking with an accent that fares only slightly better than Van Dyke's, but that was all part of what made the original so memorable. <i>Mary Poppins Returns </i>isn't quite practically perfect in every way, but as far as sequels to childhood staples go, it rarely fails to charm or tug the heartstrings.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Marshall">Rob Marshall</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Blunt">Emily Blunt</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin-Manuel_Miranda">Lin-Manuel Miranda</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Whishaw">Ben Whishaw</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Mortimer">Emily Mortimer</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie_Davies">Pixie Davies</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathanael_Saleh">Nathanael Saleh</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8773781/?ref_=tt_cl_t7">Joel Dawson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Walters">Julie Walters</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meryl_Streep">Meryl Streep</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Firth">Colin Firth</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ****</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07KMSNM1P&asins=B07KMSNM1P&linkId=382710c8051a1d6bd8ca1f7018300686&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-3jsfXDZLIY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-3jsfXDZLIY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt5028340" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5028340/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Mary Poppins Returns (2018) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-24124856470300478432019-04-02T19:18:00.000+01:002019-04-02T19:18:17.826+01:00Review #1,465: 'Bumblebee' (2018)By the time <i>Transformers: The Last Knight </i>rolled around in 2017, even the most hardcore fans of Michael Bay's <i>Transformers </i>franchise were getting tired of it all. <i>The Last Knight</i>, which was the fifth entry into the series, marked ten years of Bay's butt-numbing, explosion-heavy epics, which substituted the charm of the original 80's television show and toy line for faceless CGI constructs bashing each other to pieces, lame comedy, and an increasingly creepy attitude towards its female actors. Bay teased his departure from the franchise after three movies, but went on to make another two, and it's always been clear that the problem lay with the director's inability to engage the audience on an emotional level and refusal to deliver anything but headache-inducing action and softcore pornography. Eyebrows were raised when Paramount announced that one of its few memorable characters, Bumblebee, would receive his own spin-off. Yet they were significantly relaxed when they learned that Travis Knight, director of the acclaimed <i>Kubo and the Two Strings</i>, would helm the project, and not Bay.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCNRxfp5AkSXkhleIzaQzqLeeJv3P4cdliaWbP9xTjRcVuMRVKm0rZBxouHUa9lWuYRCHEmTGNCTThXekCUsrIwM-5RMXPHp8J1kqLtSzaHznxULjR6-kUjhMPtAZ0wxlcdAUhDQv_V3h/s1600/bumblebee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="1200" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCNRxfp5AkSXkhleIzaQzqLeeJv3P4cdliaWbP9xTjRcVuMRVKm0rZBxouHUa9lWuYRCHEmTGNCTThXekCUsrIwM-5RMXPHp8J1kqLtSzaHznxULjR6-kUjhMPtAZ0wxlcdAUhDQv_V3h/s320/bumblebee.jpg" width="320" /></a>Opening with a battle between the Autobots and Decepticons on their home planet of Cybertron, it's immediately apparent that all this universe required was a fresh pair of eyes. Yes, this sequence isn't much more than a computer-generated smackdown between huge alien robots, but at least we can tell them apart. The Autobot leader Optimus Prime (voiced as ever by Peter Cullen) is leading a resistance against their oppressive foes, but seeing his side are losing badly, Prime sends scout B-127 (Dylan O'Brien) to Earth to set up base for their eventual rendezvous. Crashing down in 1987 California, the diminutive Autobot immediately encounters a unit of government soldiers, led by Agent Jack Burns (John Cena), on a routine training exercise, and is met with open hostility. Left grievously wounded after an attack by Decepticon Blitzwing (David Sobolov), B-127 transforms into a Volkswagen Beetle to lay low while awaiting rescue. Meanwhile, teenager and amateur mechanic Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld), still grieving after the death of her father years ago, finds the rusty banger and decides to repair it as a pet project, hoping to impress junkyard owner Hank (Len Cariou) in the process. But when that final piece slips into place, Charlie finds way more in the piece of junk she names Bumblebee than she was expecting.<br />
<br />
While Bay quickly forgot about the fans who loved the cartoons, toys and comic books growing up, Knight eagerly embraces them. Rewinding the timeline back to the 1980s, Knight mixes the inevitable action set-pieces with heartfelt drama, which stems not only from Charlie's relationship with the clumsy yet adorable yellow lunk, but also from her grief and anger that her mother has already moved on. As Bumblebee stumbles around the house trying his best not to break anything, you can't help but think of <i>E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial</i>. His prat-falls are made funnier because you have grown to love the character, and by evoking such an established 80's classic, <i>Bumblebee </i>engulfs you further in its pure nostalgia trip. Most importantly, there's a sense of fun and playfulness that was lost in the crotch-grabbing and flag-waving of Bay's cinematic haemorrhoids. Charlie and Bumblebee's bonding sessions are sweet and charming, and Steinfeld's performance is undoubtedly key to this. An endearing mix of awkward teenager and highly capable mechanic, Charlie wears vests and listens to The Smiths, and where Bay may have had her in hot pants leaning over a car, Charlie would much prefer to be underneath it. Her character helps paint an even clearer line between this semi-reboot and Bay's parasitic universe, and finally, I'm excited from the next <i>Transformers </i>film again.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Knight">Travis Knight</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hailee_Steinfeld">Hailee Steinfeld</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Lendeborg_Jr.">Jorge Lendeborg Jr.</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cena">John Cena</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ortiz">John Ortiz</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Drucker">Jason Drucker</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_O%27Brien">Dylan O'Brien</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Bassett">Angela Bassett</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Theroux">Justin Theroux</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cullen">Peter Cullen</a><br />
Country: USA/China<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ****</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07LGLDP4Z&asins=B07LGLDP4Z&linkId=34a576d95e9a90b2ed2a731b0cf7d773&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lcwmDAYt22k/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lcwmDAYt22k?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt4701182" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4701182/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Bumblebee (2018) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-23239115456647791302019-03-31T18:10:00.000+01:002019-03-31T18:10:55.449+01:00Review #1,464: 'Vice' (2018)After spending most of his career larking around with Will Ferrell in the likes of <i>Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby</i>, <i>Step Brothers </i>and <i>The Other Guys</i>, writer/director Adam McKay took a huge leap towards 'serious' film-making in 2015 when he released <i>The Big Short</i>, a funny, intelligent and unexpectedly engrossing account of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. <i>The Big Short </i>may not sound like much fun on paper, but McKay latched onto this idea, making the tedious subject of subprime loans and triple-A ratings interesting by entwining it with pop culture, employing the likes of Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez to dumb it down for the audience in a manner that was too wickedly clever to ever be patronising. With Academy recognition now under his belt, McKay strides into his next project - a biopic of one of the most fearsome yet enigmatic political figures in U.S. history - with confidence, and dare I say it, a touch of arrogance.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFkiabjUoC0RYj7VajubGzpY5o_Sl91U6fTvIXicdLPBFOm8J0ZMN6nyHMw6I1VMPmscRWpkt5a2S0yIS6AmGivtw0ZPTqku5dZMOu61Cs-LTfmcmdphShDo6KBWXat7ihc8A-HSNejUs/s1600/vice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFkiabjUoC0RYj7VajubGzpY5o_Sl91U6fTvIXicdLPBFOm8J0ZMN6nyHMw6I1VMPmscRWpkt5a2S0yIS6AmGivtw0ZPTqku5dZMOu61Cs-LTfmcmdphShDo6KBWXat7ihc8A-HSNejUs/s320/vice.jpg" width="320" /></a>McKay is eager to perform the same trick again with <i>Vice</i>, a sporadically inspired but frustratingly blunt quasi-biography that feels to penetrate the skin of its subject or answer the big question of just what was the driving force behind the man who turned the symbolic position of Vice President into one of great power and influence. Rather than dig deeper, McKay prefers to allow Dick Cheney's actions to speak for themselves, occasionally cutting away to a visual metaphor, such as, in the case of Cheney's key meeting with Sam Rockwell's George W. Bush, a cheetah bringing down its prey. Cheney is a man McKay clearly views as a highly functioning psychopath, tracking his journey from working under Steve Carell's Donald Rumsfeld in the Nixon Administration, to his opportunistic lunge for control in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. He fought to grant more power to a President he easily manipulated, praying on his short attention span and lack of political know-how, and to legalise torture, finding a massive legal loophole in the shape of Guantanamo Bay.<br />
<br />
<i>Vice </i>is structured like a classic coming-of-age movie, with its 'hero' rising and falling, before dusting himself off and getting to his feet to rise again. After President Ford (Bill Camp) is voted out of office, seemingly closing all political doors for Cheney, McKay rolls the credits and pans away from the Cheney household, before an abrupt phone call reminds us that this story has barely begun. Like many of the jokes in <i>Vice</i>, the credit-roll-fake-out is funnier in theory than execution, and the film often takes the trickery so far that it threatens to undermine the seriousness of the subject matter. Satire must be funny, but it must also carry an emotional wallop that McKay struggles to find. At the centre of it all is Christian Bale's powerhouse performance, which explores a man whose obsessiveness could be compared to that of the actor's own extreme approach to his craft. Once again Bale takes his own body to the limit, piling on the pounds to resemble a man who suffered multiple heart attacks throughout his life (it becomes a running gag in the film), and adopting a deep growl capable of subtle intimidation. The performances of Bale, Carrel and Rockwell are all worth the entry fee alone, but <i>Vice </i>stutters to engage on a deeper level, failing to explain just how an oil company CEO can seize control of one of the most powerful countries in the world, and execute his plans with such cold indifference.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_McKay">Adam McKay</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale">Christian Bale</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Adams">Amy Adams</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Carell">Steve Carell</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Rockwell">Sam Rockwell</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Pill">Alison Pill</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Marsan">Eddie Marsan</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Kirk">Justin Kirk</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Plemons">Jesse Plemons</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Camp">Bill Camp</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Perry">Tyler Perry</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ***</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07N1CP96Q&asins=B07N1CP96Q&linkId=fec2d73aee6b1368189df0467e7c5747&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aSGFt6w0wok/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aSGFt6w0wok?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt6266538" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6266538/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Vice (2018) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-73445487594751510602019-03-26T20:53:00.000+00:002019-03-26T20:53:00.939+00:00Review #1,463: 'Roma' (2018)You wouldn't know it, but director Alfonso Cuaron has being paying homage to one of the women that helped raise him as a child throughout his career. This woman, Liboria Rodriguez, is clearly close to the filmmaker's heart, and he cast her in cameos in a few of his films, including 2001's <i>Y Tu Mama Tambien</i>. Now, Rodriguez is the topic of her very own film, <i>Roma</i>, Cuaron's ode to the network of women that were key to his upbringing in 1970s Mexico. Of late, Cuaron has mainly focused on big-budget movies for Hollywood, such as last year's <i>Gravity</i>, the riveting thriller <i>Children of Men</i>, and the best Harry Potter film of the series, <i>The Prisoner of Azkaban</i>, but he has dialled things way down for his latest. <i>Roma </i>is about as small-scale as you can get, focusing on a humble maid working for a middle-class family in Mexico City, but complete with the director's trademark dizzying camerawork and gorgeous cinematography.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1xulN_ngrnC71qZVxHdY_LPLFGHcjJjNf2ONVNqme5ejNSkrSepYLltgFLI-_pjcl1YR3fsbWAERQKr3dB_m7yhpQJy1GP8eLT5aCEYqlgM42iL2sx2N-XEsRSL5qZn9dMUMl5pIDYjN/s1600/roma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="1000" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1xulN_ngrnC71qZVxHdY_LPLFGHcjJjNf2ONVNqme5ejNSkrSepYLltgFLI-_pjcl1YR3fsbWAERQKr3dB_m7yhpQJy1GP8eLT5aCEYqlgM42iL2sx2N-XEsRSL5qZn9dMUMl5pIDYjN/s320/roma.jpg" width="320" /></a>In a debut appearance, Yalitza Aparicio plays Cleo, a maid working in an affluent household in the Colonia Roma neighbourhood in Mexico City. The four children are incredibly affectionate towards her, scrambling for a cuddle when they sit down to watch television, and parents Sofia (Marina de Tavira) and Antonio (Fernando Grediaga) clearly rely on her as they get on with their busy lifestyles. But there are cracks starting to appear in the marriage. Antonio squeezes his bulky, show-off car into the narrow garage every night, hinting at the father's growing dismay with his surroundings, and he quickly grows frustrated when Cleo fails to clean up the dog shit littering the patio. However, as happy and content as she may appear on the surface, Cleo has to deal with her own problems when she falls pregnant to a martial-arts obsessed military type who is nowhere to be found. With her employers' marriage falling apart and a baby on the way, Cleo struggles to juggle attempting to hold the family together for the sake of the children, and the idea of starting life as a single mother.<br />
<br />
Trying to summarise the plot of <i>Roma </i>is no easy task. This is a slice of life plucked from Cuaron's own memories, shot in luscious black-and-white that almost feels like remembering the past through an old photograph. <i>Roma </i>is about class, politics and poverty, but mainly it wishes to tell a story of an unseen hero whose stories are rarely told. It's a film of moments that leave a mark despite how inconsequential they appear, very similar to the neo-Realist films of Satyajit Ray and Robert Rossellini, somehow telling a story that feels vast and epic in scale while keeping the focus on an incredibly personal level. Cuaron is a true craftsman, and, with regular collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki unavailable, actually steps up to the role of cinematographer. This compromise actually worked out in the film's favour, as you couldn't imagine anyone else recreating a time and place from one's childhood with such detail and intimacy. Liboria Rodriguez is clearly a huge inspiration in Cuaron's life, and here the director steps aside to shine the spotlight on her and many other that disappear into the crowd. It was a surprise to learn that <i>Roma </i>would be distributed through Netflix, but after seeing the film, it's hard to believe that any studios would take a gamble on what is essentially a collection of memories played out on screen. But what beautiful memories they are.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_Cuar%C3%B3n">Alfonso Cuarón</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalitza_Aparicio">Yalitza Aparicio</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_de_Tavira">Marina de Tavira</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9948845/?ref_=tt_cl_t3">Diego Cortina Autrey</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9985727/?ref_=tt_cl_t4">Carlos Peralta</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5841958/?ref_=tt_cl_t5">Marco Graf</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8611958/?ref_=tt_cl_t6">Daniela Demesa</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9863951/?ref_=tt_cl_t7">Nancy García García</a><br />
Country: Mexico/USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: <span style="color: red;">*****</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6BS27ngZtxg/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6BS27ngZtxg?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt6155172" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6155172/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Roma (2018) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-27862384287062465482019-03-22T19:15:00.000+00:002019-03-24T16:23:54.634+00:00Review #1,462: 'Bringing Up Baby' (1938)Considering Howard Hawks' <i>Bringing Up Baby </i>is now regarded as one of the finest screwball comedies of all time, it's shocking to learn that it was hailed as a flop upon its release in 1938, and received a few unfairly scathing reviews. Romantic comedies are as popular now as they ever have been, and watching <i>Bringing Up Baby </i>71 years after it was made almost feels as though it could have been released last week, only in black and white and starring two of the finest actors of their, or any other, generation. Its formula and structure is now a blueprint for any filmmakers hoping to make a successful rom-com, featuring all the ingredients now so closely associated with the genre, like the meet-cute, the obstacle standing in the way of happiness, and the quirk that sets the love interest apart from everybody else. The quirk here is a pet leopard named Baby, who - despite how ridiculous it all sounds - is the glue that holds the film together.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4T24MOaxNgevCilkuxrLr1lYZ_H8WD84iE8u1uta6vVRkXUOBffc88yvbY8mNs_cvzPYzGwomJ8JgzPadDcIcYjk4ZSUnMxeUD-PM1H7L-3k-fci_eB9eWs7VyxcU80U-fYhw-9Dqubvs/s1600/bringingupbaby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4T24MOaxNgevCilkuxrLr1lYZ_H8WD84iE8u1uta6vVRkXUOBffc88yvbY8mNs_cvzPYzGwomJ8JgzPadDcIcYjk4ZSUnMxeUD-PM1H7L-3k-fci_eB9eWs7VyxcU80U-fYhw-9Dqubvs/s320/bringingupbaby.jpg" width="320" /></a>For the past four years, goofy palaeontologist David Huxley (Cary Grant) has been searching for the final fossilised piece to finish the Brontosaurus display he has been assembling for the museum. Much to his joy, the 'intercostal clavicle' has been located and will arrive within days, but David doesn't have time to celebrate. On top of his impending marriage to the sullen Alice Swallow (Virginia Walker), there's also the matter of impressing the wealthy Elizabeth Random (May Robson) and her lawyer Alexander Peabody (George Irving), who are considering making a million-dollar donation to the museum. David's plans are interrupted when, on the day before his wedding, he meets motor-mouthed Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn) on a golf course when she accidentally plays his ball. From then on, Susan causes David to slip on an olive, tear his dinner jacket, and generally make his life a living hell. She takes a real shine to the mild-mannered and dashing scientist, and proceeds to manipulate him into whisking her and her brother's pet leopard off to a remote farm, where she steals his clothes and accidentally unleashes another leopard into the surrounding area.<br />
<br />
It's a ridiculous premise that would look disastrous on paper, but the combined talents of Hawks, Hepburn, Grant and writers Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde not only make it work, but turn it into one of funniest films of its era. Similar to Hawks' 1940 masterpiece <i>His Girl Friday</i>, the script moves a mile a minute, cramming in more one-liners and shrewd observations than your brain can keep up with. Of course, the script only works when the actors can bring the words to life, and there has perhaps been no finer pairing in the screwball genre than Hepburn and Grant. Grant, with his vaudeville background, is always brilliant when playing these sorts of characters, but Hepburn, who had little experience doing comedy in 1938, struts into the role with confidence and ends up walking away with the film. Watching them work their magic helped me understand why modern neo-screwball comedies don't work. The actors are simply of a different breed, hailing from a time when live shows were the ruling visual medium and learning the craft was entirely different. Hilarious and romantic in equal measures, <i>Bringing Up Baby </i>helped write the genre rule-book, lending real weight to the idea that they just don't make 'em like that anymore.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hawks">Howard Hawks</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Hepburn">Katharine Hepburn</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Grant">Cary Grant</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Ruggles">Charles Ruggles</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Catlett">Walter Catlett</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Fitzgerald">Barry Fitzgerald</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Robson">May Robson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Irving_(American_actor)">George Irving</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: <span style="color: red;">*****</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B000PMGRBY&asins=B000PMGRBY&linkId=425d15f6bf80590e44e9ebc9c61ba5d7&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F25nzu6hh0Q/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F25nzu6hh0Q?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt0029947" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029947/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Bringing Up Baby (1938) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-70433855679095736812019-03-20T19:14:00.000+00:002019-03-20T19:14:22.043+00:00Review #1,461: 'So Sweet... So Perverse' (1969)The <i>giallo </i>may have been pioneered by the great Mario Bava and spectacularly refined by Dario Argento, but Umberto Lenzi was developing the techniques and stylings we now know and love from the mid-1960s. Before he became known for schlocky horror trash like <i>Eaten Alive!</i>, <i>Nightmare City </i>and <i>Cannibal Ferox</i>, Lenzi was toying with rich socialites and exploring pulpy, dime-store stories that often involved ridiculous, labyrinthine plots, psychedelic interiors, and beautiful, untrustworthy women. These are all ingredients of the <i>giallo</i>, and some of these early Lenzi efforts hint at a director with an eye for kitschy visuals, something that certainly doesn't come to mind when you watch a native tribesman scalp a poor traveller in the despicable <i>Cannibal Ferox</i>. These eye-catching visuals are certainly present in his 1969 film <i>So Sweet... So Perverse</i>, but there isn't much else to hold the attention in this plodding soap opera.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbR3voKUKdG4YjywiFpziiEEEJtURIZDaq4XvgxQKAYBm3Z8u3g2jLVpGDx9t1OwucZAkqJ7nGMtq94cckL1vv3Buru9X-fTTWGwE1BXC8bcIhFmdeWtkP8wtWwy8DPYzfCKU4Xoo2XfyQ/s1600/sosweetsoperverse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbR3voKUKdG4YjywiFpziiEEEJtURIZDaq4XvgxQKAYBm3Z8u3g2jLVpGDx9t1OwucZAkqJ7nGMtq94cckL1vv3Buru9X-fTTWGwE1BXC8bcIhFmdeWtkP8wtWwy8DPYzfCKU4Xoo2XfyQ/s320/sosweetsoperverse.jpg" width="320" /></a>Handsome, jet-setting socialite Jean Reynaud (Jean-Louis Trintignant) enjoys a lavish lifestyle of cocktail parties and shooting ranges, but he has grown bored and frustrated with the lack of passion in his marriage to the beautiful Danielle (Erika Blanc). To counter this, Jean sleeps with anybody who happens to catch his eye, including his friend Helene (Helga Line), and his head is turned by the woman who has just moved upstairs, Nicole (Carroll Baker). When he hears screams coming from above, he rushes to Nicole's aid, learning that she is stuck in an abusive sexual relationship with her husband Klaus (Horst Frank). As they spend more time together, the couple inevitably fall in love, yet whenever they escape for a weekend, Klaus always manages to track them down. After a night of passion, Nicole reveals that she and Klaus have actually been paid a hefty sum to lure in and eventually kill Jean, but that the one doing the hiring has not yet revealed themselves.<br />
<br />
With such a cool-sounding title (yet another famous trait of the <i>gialli</i>), there is nothing sweet and little perverse about the film itself. Argento eventually set a high standard for story-telling and the slow-building of tension within a vital set-piece, and the likes of Lucio Fulci and Sergio Martino added gory violence and a graceful style into the mix, but <i>So Sweet... So Perverse </i>is frustratingly tame, failing to ignite much interest in the plot or generate any excitement when events take a more sinister tone. Where Lenzi ultimately excels is in the glossy cinematography and dazzling interiors, which are garish enough to amusingly satirise the world of these detached characters and their materialistic lifestyles. Images of sun-drenched locations, expensive suits and beautiful, provocative women add a sleazy glamour and seductive glaze to the film, a hedonistic way-of-life Lenzi is happy to indulge as he shrewdly condemns it. It isn't quite enough to prevent <i>So Sweet... So Perverse </i>from becoming little more than a curious cinematic artefact, that ultimately paved the way for better directors to come along and take this new genre by the scruff.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_Lenzi">Umberto Lenzi</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Baker">Carroll Baker</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Louis_Trintignant">Jean-Louis Trintignant</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_Blanc">Erika Blanc</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Frank">Horst Frank</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helga_Lin%C3%A9">Helga Liné</a><br />
Country: Italy/France/West Germany<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: **</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B0017IOSQQ&asins=B0017IOSQQ&linkId=c7fdb640f895be0a2cecb27a9cb6357e&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pTRx5u9fKkA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pTRx5u9fKkA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt0064186" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064186/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="So Sweet... So Perverse (1969) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-70993723570437117092019-03-18T19:18:00.000+00:002019-03-18T19:18:42.444+00:00Review #1,460: 'Captain Marvel' (2019)It says a lot about the mammoth universe built by Kevin Feige and the folks at Marvel over the past 11 years that merely the glimpse of a modified pager displaying the colours of their costume is enough to generate a huge amount of buzz around the arrival of a new superhero. Captain Marvel's introduction was teased during the traditional post-credits stinger of last year's <i>Avengers: Infinity War</i>, and now, just under a year later, Brie Larson's Carol Danvers finally makes her bow. <i>Black Panther </i>became a cultural phenomenon, and <i>Infinity War </i>delivered and then some on its promise to bring this breathtaking (first) saga closer to an end, so the small-scale and light-hearted <i>Ant-Man and the Wasp </i>was a welcome, if underwhelming palette cleanser. <i>Captain Marvel </i>is the studio's first female-led superhero film, so there's a weight of expectation behind Marvel once again.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeYEuw4y4Pl2ARVYghxAHjuIPBAiHA8vhGDZmIADHxsiVSD4nK9K17MKI7zOr52Q_bNtdPpkw0Ux5v6WWDrUvakLhnorXMLoNBmhLKr4Q5Wsv8YavWIdv557_mkC110BQP7tg21Gw9QQW/s1600/captainmarvel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeYEuw4y4Pl2ARVYghxAHjuIPBAiHA8vhGDZmIADHxsiVSD4nK9K17MKI7zOr52Q_bNtdPpkw0Ux5v6WWDrUvakLhnorXMLoNBmhLKr4Q5Wsv8YavWIdv557_mkC110BQP7tg21Gw9QQW/s320/captainmarvel.jpg" width="320" /></a>There has been a wave of ugliness online in protest against the idea of female empowerment and Brie Larson's pro-feminist comments before the film even premiered, but an opening weekend of north of $500 million has silenced the haters and, with any hope, brought us closer to a future when a hero's gender or sexuality is irrelevant to a film's success. <i>Captain Marvel </i>is far from perfect. In fact, it relies heavily on Marvel's tried-and-tested origin story formula we saw a lot of when this universe was still in its first phase, although directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck toy around with the structure enough to keep things slightly less familiar. Anyone who was keen to write <i>Captain Marvel </i>off as an example of forced diversity should take the time to actually watch it. Don't get me wrong, the film takes a strong pro-feminist stance and tackles issues plaguing our modern world, but it does so with subtlety. Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel is strong, confident, even arrogant at times, but just like Tony Stark or Dr. Strange, she is also flawed, troubled and - despite the mystery surrounding her ancestry - recognisably human.<br />
<br />
The warrior known as Vers (Larson) is a member of Starforce, an elite band of soldiers operating within the Kree Empire tasked with infiltrating the Skrulls, a race of shape-shifting aliens they have been at war with since before they can remember. Vers is troubled by dreams that feel like memories she does not remember, but her commander Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) trains her to put aside her emotion to focus on the enemy. During a mission to rescue one Starforce's own, Vera is captured by Skrull leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), who proceeds to dissect her memories before they all crash down on a strange, primitive planet. That planet is Earth, and the year is 1995. It isn't long before an eager, two-eyed agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. called Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is drawn to this mysterious stranger and is caught up in her desire to uncover the secrets of her past, along with learning of an intergalactic war that may one day threaten his home. With the help of old friend Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) and a cat named Goose, Vers discovers that she was born Carol Danvers, and that everything she has been taught about who she is and what she's fighting for may actually be a lie.<br />
<br />
Although Marvel have done period before with <i>Captain America: The First Avenger </i>back in 2011, Boden and Fleck were clearly having fun revelling in some 90's nostalgia. Although some of the music choices are a little on-the-nose, the appearance of a Blockbuster store and the sound of a dial-up internet connection will delight those, like me, who grew up in the decade. The big joke is that while Carol embarks on galaxy-hopping adventures with the Kree, down here on Earth everything takes an age to load. <i>Captain Marvel </i>switches seamlessly between these two extremes with good humour, and for a character that is destined to become the franchise's next cosmic powerhouse, the low-key approach to her origin actually works in the film's favour. It also allows time for Larson to develop the character, whether it be bouncing off Jackson's one-liners or discovering her old self with her best friend. Larson is great: strong but not over-powered, cocky but endearing. Despite Mendelsohn's scene-stealing, Larson ensures that it'll be Captain Marvel's appearance you'll be eagerly awaiting in the upcoming <i>Avengers: Endgame</i>. Formulaic? Certainly, but Marvel knows how to entertain, and they can't exactly re-define the genre with every film.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Boden_and_Ryan_Fleck">Anna Boden</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Boden_and_Ryan_Fleck">Ryan Fleck</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brie_Larson">Brie Larson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_L._Jackson">Samuel L. Jackson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Mendelsohn">Ben Mendelsohn</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude_Law">Jude Law</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_Bening">Annette Bening</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lashana_Lynch">Lashana Lynch</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Gregg">Clark Gregg</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemma_Chan">Gemma Chan</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rune_Temte">Rune Temte</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djimon_Hounsou">Djimon Hounsou</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ****</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07ND8KCQG&asins=B07ND8KCQG&linkId=9e4ebc7d3b0783b48339f88886889a03&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0LHxvxdRnYc/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0LHxvxdRnYc?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt4154664" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154664/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Captain Marvel (2019) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-59469525947124420502019-03-13T18:21:00.000+00:002019-03-13T18:26:05.376+00:00Review #1,459: 'The Reckoning' (1970)Indicator are a small British blu-ray label who seem to have made it their ultimate goal to unearth some of the best and weirdest forgotten gems from Britain's cinematic past, routinely releasing titles I've never even heard of that turn out to be well worthy of a remaster and rediscovery. One such title is Jack Gold's <i>The Reckoning</i>, a tough, lean thriller about a no-nonsense businessman who travels up North seeking vengeance. Sound familiar? <i>The Reckoning </i>has been compared to <i>Get Carter</i>, which was released the following year, and the two films certainly share some similarities. Yet tonally and thematically the two are worlds apart, with Gold's film more eager to explore class divide and national identity than <i>Carter</i>'s more straightforward revenge fantasy. <i>The Reckoning </i>may also be the better film: a punishing experience full of off-putting characters that leaves more of a lasting impression than what many consider to be Michael Caine's finest hour.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPS5wj2l8x8TXr5UH1heSodOlZ9yYsDnq5MvlQpgg74kfgimRwglI6EkHBarpK-o1CZO6WRMm8MMPqTNfM3R4hKoe-7dLGxIE8-tMW-Rbc4KXOWhfLcJDkIYrXbp-mZFLc1fzaD9FyNbE/s1600/thereckoning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="580" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPS5wj2l8x8TXr5UH1heSodOlZ9yYsDnq5MvlQpgg74kfgimRwglI6EkHBarpK-o1CZO6WRMm8MMPqTNfM3R4hKoe-7dLGxIE8-tMW-Rbc4KXOWhfLcJDkIYrXbp-mZFLc1fzaD9FyNbE/s320/thereckoning.jpg" width="320" /></a>It tells the story of Mick Marler (Nicol Williamson), a corporate ball-buster who has worked his way up the ladder over the years with a combination of ruthless business savvy and sheer intimidation. He seems satisfied with his high income and strong social standing, but also has a button-pushing, gold-digging wife (Ann Bell) to contend with. After putting the pieces in place for a business manoeuvre that will favour both himself and his boss (as well as doing away with his biggest rival), Mick heads up north to Liverpool to visit his working-class Irish family. Immediately upon arrival, he discovers his father has died from a heart attack, but is disturbed when he discovers bruising on his father's body. After doing some digging, Mick learns that his father got into a fight with some English 'teddy boys', suffering the fatal heart attack after being punched and kicked to the ground by one of the gang. With his Irish blood boiling inside of him, Mick decides that he must avenge his father, but he also has responsibilities back home.<br />
<br />
Torn between his two worlds, Mick goes on a journey of self-discovery that ultimately makes him even more loathsome. When he is in the South, he laughs at the idea of being bound by blood and tradition to avenge his father, but when he is back North, a beast is awoken inside him, and he is irresistibly drawn to embracing his primitive instincts. It's a tough, ugly film that asks you to stick with this part-thug, part-corporate psychopath for just shy of two hours, but John McGrath's screenplay - based on the novel by Patrick Hall - trusts the audience to at least try to understand the man who breezes between two equally brutal, yet entirely different, worlds. This isn't action-packed or even violent as you would expect from a man-on-a-revenge-mission movie, but takes its time to develop this hateful yet fascinating character who used his working-class upbringing to batter his way into the world of lavish dinner parties and fast cars, and was both intrigued and repulsed by what he found. Williamson is excellent, managing to emote both outer ferocity and inner turmoil at the same time, and it's a puzzle why the actor didn't go on to land bigger roles. While it's chaotic at times, <i>The Reckoning </i>is a true forgotten gem that highlights how important the work carried out by Indicator really is.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gold">Jack Gold</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol_Williamson">Nicol Williamson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Bell">Ann Bell</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Roberts_(actress)">Rachel Roberts</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zena_Walker">Zena Walker</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rogers_(actor)">Paul Rogers</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Kempinski">Tom Kempinski</a><br />
Country: UK<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ****</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B071LT85HX&asins=B071LT85HX&linkId=64ed25be20e129dfe39578f3952ceffd&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uldcRr7r6fs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uldcRr7r6fs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt0064881" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064881/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="The Reckoning (1970) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-49499168413871034592019-03-12T18:48:00.000+00:002019-03-12T18:48:22.516+00:00Review #1,458: 'Aquaman' (2018)After a cameo in Zack Snyder's 2016 car crash <i>Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice </i>and a team-up appearance in 2017's equally disastrous <i>Justice League</i>, the time feels right for one of comic-book lore's goofiest superheroes, Aquaman, to receive his own standalone origin story. After all, Jason Momoa's hulking, tattooed fish-whisperer was one of the surprising standouts of DC's flop team-up event, and with the campy orange-and-green costume replaced by a long-hared and shirtless Kiwi Adonis, the character can now be played straight-faced. <i>Wonder Woman </i>proved that DC could produce quality with the right director pulling the strings, and they pulled off a coup with James Wan, a filmmaker whose talents I have long admired despite many of his films missing the mark for me. So it pains me to say that <i>Aquaman</i> is yet another tonally uneven and bloated effort from Warner Bros. that never quite knows if it wants to make you laugh or feel, with a marathon running time which, by the time is gets round to its umpteenth climax, is about as welcome as a fart in a wetsuit.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiju6IKehO1w1wL8DMkchatH5xj2wda1WuxwrXdlSUQbbDXHt0eMiI3Ifn60hMjtT9Bh0z8_RPwKFO90zSXeoTvWMsaKxNw9EzkEzI87pJY3cJUyGUQX6keYqc-N3ZeD1tCOAflkEV4gS42/s1600/aquaman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="970" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiju6IKehO1w1wL8DMkchatH5xj2wda1WuxwrXdlSUQbbDXHt0eMiI3Ifn60hMjtT9Bh0z8_RPwKFO90zSXeoTvWMsaKxNw9EzkEzI87pJY3cJUyGUQX6keYqc-N3ZeD1tCOAflkEV4gS42/s320/aquaman.jpg" width="320" /></a>In 1985, lighthouse keeper Tom Curry (Temuera Morrison) comes across a beautiful woman washed up on the shores of Maine. The woman is Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), a princess from the underwater nation of Atlantis who has escaped an arranged marriage and a gang of Atalantian stormtroopers. Tom takes her in and the two naturally fall in love, resulting in the birth of the half-Atlantian, half-human Arthur. When her enemies come calling, Atlanna must return to the ocean, leaving Tom to bring up young Arthur on his own. The baby grows up to be the beer-swilling gym-devotee we saw in <i>Justice League</i>, but there is trouble a-brewin' down in the depths. Arthur's half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) wants to unite the kingdoms of Atlantis and wage war on the surface, who have been polluting their home for decades. But Orm knows that he will never be accepted as the true leader while Arthur, who has no desire to take the throne, is still alive. Mera (Amber Heard), the daughter of King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren), comes to warn Arthur, but they don't stand a chance against the might of Atlantis without the Trident of Atlan, a magical weapon buried somewhere in the Sahara desert.<br />
<br />
<i>Aquaman </i>certainly isn't short of ideas; the problem is that Wan doesn't quite know how to cram them all in. We are taken across continents on land and to multiple kingdoms under the water. With a desire to capture the adventurous magic of <i>Romancing the Stone </i>and <i>Indiana Jones</i>, the film actually trips over its own ambition, squeezing in side characters such as Atlantean Mr. Miyagi Vulko (Willem Dafoe) and the fearsome pirate Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), as well as a variety of underwater races we are expected to remember and littering the story with clunky CGI smackdowns. Wan crafts a colourful, vivid world, full of giant sea-horses and advanced technology, but it shares more in common with the weightless. computer-generated locations of <i>The Phantom Menace </i>than the tangible flamboyance of <i>Black Panther</i>'s Wakanda. Yet all of this could be considered a mere niggle had the leads been up to the task, but Momoa and Heard have all the chemistry of two strangers making awkward small-talk in a lift. Momoa is an impressive specimen and possesses the charisma to bring this character to life (see <i>Justice League</i>), but here he is denied a moment to have that quiet moment of reflection or to reveal the flaws to his character that would help make him interesting. A wheezing, confused and sickly bore.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wan">James Wan</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Momoa">Jason Momoa</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_Heard">Amber Heard</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Dafoe">Willem Dafoe</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Wilson_(American_actor)">Patrick Wilson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Kidman">Nicole Kidman</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolph_Lundgren">Dolph Lundgren</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahya_Abdul-Mateen_II">Yahya Abdul-Mateen II</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temuera_Morrison">Temuera Morrison</a><br />
Country: Australia/USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: **</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07L9T4H1Y&asins=B07L9T4H1Y&linkId=4277a099ea56e2ec18eb850606d20e92&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2wcj6SrX4zw/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2wcj6SrX4zw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt1477834" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Aquaman (2018) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-78271881867003481782019-03-11T11:33:00.000+00:002019-03-24T16:24:52.941+00:00Review #1,457: 'Creed II' (2018)One of the many surprise pleasures of Ryan Coogler's <i>Creed</i> was not only its ability to find much life in what was a tired, decades-sprawling franchise, but the way it managed to add emotional weight to the events of <i>Rocky IV</i>, a crowd-pleasing fan-favourite that remains the cheesiest and most ridiculous entry into the series to date. While the death of Carl Weathers' Apollo Creed was shocking and unexpected, it was followed by an air-punching victory for the Italian Stallion underdog during which he also won the Cold War for the U.S., all backed to the most 80s of soundtracks. By following the early career of one of Apollo's bastard children Adonis (Michael B. Jordan), <i>Creed </i>added an unexpected gravity to the consequences of the former's reckless lifestyle, mixing family tragedy into what was otherwise a traditional sports movie.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaoCwoiW92cX8t7Bo3KLnmrcoC1aE0nOXONXhG8lQ0X_ft2h9eEWMsoLN6uO4bCRG_atXBxvojbpRliyD0eI5j2pq8yaPCCQ03JnwB8HrhaK8-HftIkF8kR7zZrWiiopB21sEnPaNc-66/s1600/creedII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaoCwoiW92cX8t7Bo3KLnmrcoC1aE0nOXONXhG8lQ0X_ft2h9eEWMsoLN6uO4bCRG_atXBxvojbpRliyD0eI5j2pq8yaPCCQ03JnwB8HrhaK8-HftIkF8kR7zZrWiiopB21sEnPaNc-66/s320/creedII.jpg" width="320" /></a>With Adonis now having dealt with his personal demons over his father's neglect and untimely death, Steven Caple Jr.'s follow-up <i>Creed II </i>faces its own battle in keeping the young fighter's story interesting, as well as delivering an exciting boxing movie without bowing down to cliches. Having lost the fight but won the night at the climax of the previous film, Adonis has gone on to win the Heavyweight Championship and achieve global stardom with trusted old dog Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) at his side. He proposes to his girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson), who is concerned that her own hearing loss may be passed down to their unborn child, and with few fighters talented enough to pose Adonis a real threat, he agonises over building a legacy worthy of his father and trainer. Ripples start to appear in his close relationships and personal drive, which only work against him when a figure from Rocky's past re-emerges with a challenge that could not only lose Creed the title, but end his career entirely.<br />
<br />
That man is Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), who over the years has worked tirelessly to mould his son Viktor (Florian Munteanu) into one of the most most formidable bruisers on the planet. The film begins with them exiled in Ukraine after the embarrassment of Ivan's defeat in <i>Rocky IV</i>, and their relationship is actually the film's most interesting aspect. Ivan hopes that by making his son the world champion his country will welcome him back, but their bond is fractured and strained as a result. It's a thread that should have been explored in more depth, since it's infinitely more interesting than Adonis awkwardly practising his proposal speech. But the melodrama is backed up with a lot of heart, and Stallone's Balboa is again the thread that ties it all together. Dealing with his own family issues on top of dreading the thought of watching another Creed die in his prime at the hands of a Drago, Stallone is magnificent, capable of delivering chills as his voice is heard for the first time off-camera. It's a step down from the electricity of <i>Creed</i>, but it was always going to be. For what is essentially a remake of <i>Rocky IV</i>, the fact that <i>Creed II </i>manages to be emotional, exciting and joyous despite embracing genre cliches is a monumental achievement in itself.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Caple_Jr.">Steven Caple Jr.</a><br />
Starring: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_B._Jordan">Michael B. Jordan</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Stallone">Sylvester Stallone</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessa_Thompson">Tessa Thompson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylicia_Rashad">Phylicia Rashad</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolph_Lundgren">Dolph Lundgren</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8108730/?ref_=tt_cl_t6">Florian Munteanu</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Hornsby">Russell Hornsby</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_Harris">Wood Harris</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: ****</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07KWMHFZP&asins=B07KWMHFZP&linkId=de392d319d3f442ff350fcc5508b0dad&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ApQbQ0iJQO0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ApQbQ0iJQO0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt6343314" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6343314/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Creed II (2018) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831840149570380972.post-22459286886641333182019-03-06T19:46:00.000+00:002019-03-06T19:46:05.488+00:00Review #1,456: 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' (2018)When Sony announced a year or so ago that they were planning an animated take on the Spider-Man character, the question was asked by even the most hardcore of fans of whether yet another incarnation of everybody's favourite web-crawler can really be justified. After all, in the last 17 years alone, there's been Sam Raimi's popular trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, Marc Webb's ill-fated reboot in 2012, and most recently Tom Holland has donned the mask for the hero's introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. <i>Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse </i>doesn't only introduce a new Spidey in the form of Miles Morales, but also includes two versions of Peter Parker, as well as four other versions of the world's most popular superhero. The fact that the film isn't a cluster-fuck is a miracle in itself. The fact that this is the best Spider-Man movie ever made is something else entirely.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf_QytT82TzjNuMDM4XHR4JsGqlhBHxoN77G8SxvIPxRMBNfnG1RGZYgTtDnUqVjOiqbb_KDQ2Qn0Fu4Dc8jTJDqaPrk8g74ybAY9wEQZJhzl50McJfH1Y7RM7BZPwhUu7myl8oV8KPQA-/s1600/spider-manintothespider-verse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1200" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf_QytT82TzjNuMDM4XHR4JsGqlhBHxoN77G8SxvIPxRMBNfnG1RGZYgTtDnUqVjOiqbb_KDQ2Qn0Fu4Dc8jTJDqaPrk8g74ybAY9wEQZJhzl50McJfH1Y7RM7BZPwhUu7myl8oV8KPQA-/s320/spider-manintothespider-verse.jpg" width="320" /></a>Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is an average teenager who, like the majority of kids his age, look up to and admire their friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man (Chris Pine). When he isn't in school, Miles divides his time between his over-protective police officer father (Brian Tyree Henry) and his cooler, scrappier Uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali). The latter encourages his nephew's passion for graffiti art, and as Miles works on his new project in an abandoned subway station, he is bitten by a radioactive spider. He starts to stick to his classmates and hear a voice-over in his head (one of the film's many clever ways of bringing the comic-book page to life), but he is faced with his biggest dilemma when he accidentally stumbles upon Spider-Man battling the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber), who is working on a particle accelerator with the ability to access parallel dimensions. The fight ends in disaster, with the machine opening up wormholes long enough to bring a host of parallel Spider-People into their world.<br />
<br />
With Kingpin threatening to reactivate the device and destroy the city, Miles carries the fate of his friends and family with him, but he is not alone. Helping the youngster master his new abilities are the overweight Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), Spider-Woman aka Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), the black-and-white Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), wise-cracking cartoon Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), and SP//dr, a spider-controlled robot who shares a telepathic link with a young Japanese girl (Kimiko Glenn). Such a large collection of characters who each share similar yet personal origins could have been an overload, but directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman - working from a script by Rothman and Phil Lord - wisely keep the focus on Miles, with the rest serving as the new Spider-Man's mentor in their own unique way. Rather than steal the attention away from Miles, the gang actually get to the root of what makes Spider-Man such a compelling hero. They may all be plagued by tragedy and loss, but they will prevail in their battle against evil with fearless determination and good humour. <i>Spider-Verse </i>understands the character better than Sam Raimi, Marc Webb and Jon Watts ever could, as good as some of the previous films have been.<br />
<br />
This new host of Spider-People also provide some of the film's funniest moments, whether it be overly-serious brooding of Cage's Noir or the madcap anime weirdness of SP//dr. It's ever funnier than <i>Homecoming</i>, a film which embraced the comedic side of the hero, and isn't afraid to take hilarious digs at the failures of its predecessors (we all remember the <i>Spider-Man 3 </i>emo-dance and face-jiggle). Most impressive of all is <i>Spider-Verse</i>'s groundbreaking animation, which combines various styles and techniques to create a truly stimulating experience that could be paused at any moment and admired as a stunning piece of art. The sight of Spider-Man gliding through the city skyline back in 2002 will forever remain iconic, but Miles' first leap from the edge of a building will inspire a whole new generation of fans with its vertigo-inducing imagery and dazzling neon colours. Of course, this would all be decoration if the characters and story didn't captivate, but <i>Spider-Verse </i>achieves this in abundance. Miles is a great hero to root for: confidant enough to justify his new power set, yet bumbling enough to be relatable to any teenagers watching. Fantastic all-round, and fully deserving of its recent Oscar win for Best Animated Feature.<br />
<br />
<br />
Directed by: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Persichetti">Bob Persichetti</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Ramsey">Peter Ramsey</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Rothman">Rodney Rothman</a><br />
Voices: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shameik_Moore">Shameik Moore</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Johnson">Jake Johnson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hailee_Steinfeld">Hailee Steinfeld</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahershala_Ali">Mahershala Ali</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Tyree_Henry">Brian Tyree Henry</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Tomlin">Lily Tomlin</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mulaney">John Mulaney</a><br />
Country: USA<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: <span style="color: red;">*****</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b>
Tom Gillespie<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thwrofbl-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07L3LL6F5&asins=B07L3LL6F5&linkId=fb8ac412d252e6d896c2b9e11a36f556&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tg52up16eq0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tg52up16eq0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="imdbRatingPlugin" data-style="p1" data-title="tt4633694" data-user="ur3741220"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/?ref_=plg_rt_1"><img alt="Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) on IMDb" src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/images/imdb_46x22.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<script>(function(d,s,id){var js,stags=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return;}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/plugins/rating/js/rating.js";stags.parentNode.insertBefore(js,stags);})(document,"script","imdb-rating-api");</script>Wrath-of-bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09115927190421209837noreply@blogger.com0