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I am a reviewer of films and television at Spryfilm.com and I upload stories to thisissouthtaranaki.com.
  • DVD & Blu-ray review: “Life” (2017)

    DVD & Blu-ray review: “Life” (2017)

    “Life” (2017)

    Sci-Fi/Thriller/Horror

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    Running Time: 103 minutes

    Directed by: Daniel Espinosa

    Featuring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson and Ryan Reynolds

    Dominique: “Are you bringing the alien back to earth?”

    Roy Adams: “No, we’re going to keep it up here where it’s safe.”

    I don’t normally like reading or hearing other peoples reviews but somehow going into “Life” (2017) I had heard a few and was pretty discouraged by them, the theme that came through was that this was a cross between “Alien” (1979) and “Gravity (2013), but inferior to both – which is not only not true but fairly insulting for all three films to be reduced to a type but also insulting to the film-makers themselves. Its no surprise then that this isn’t the greatest film ever made, but as far as genre films go it is exceptionally watchable with some very original content – you just have to suspend your disbelief and it will all be ok.

    “Life”, is set on as well as revolving around a crew aboard the International Space Station performs a successful capture of a space probe returning from Mars with a sample inside. The crew is tasked with studying the sample, which may be the first proof of extraterrestrial life. However, the study eventually backfires as the organism displays incredible strength and gains intelligence, becoming extremely hostile and killing them all one by one. Trapped aboard the ISS with the rapidly growing organism, the crew must find out how to kill it before it manages to escape and destroy Earth.

    If you have seen any marketing for this film you will probably know it is about an aggressive alien that is hunting its prey on a space station, and yes on the surface this is similar to “Alien”, but the type of alien as well as the crew and the motivations for the crew are pretty different to the film “Alien” in almost every way. The similarities to “Gravity” are that it is set in space, on a space station orbiting the earth – a fairly pointless and obvious statement.

    Daniel Espinosa, the director of “Life”, whose previous film, the extremely poorly received historic Russian serial killer film, “Child 44” (2015) was a bit of a bloated mess is clearly in his rear mirror as this film is a fast paced thriller, with time given over to most of the characters for moments that make you feel for them when they all face their respective fates. The director make effective use of the two shot to maximize the claustrophobic feeling within the space station as well as point of view shots as well, particularly through a tense and gruesome space walk scene. The exterior wide shots look amazing considering this is a low budgeted sci-fi film and has a lot to accomplish with its special effects.

    The spcial effects are acceptable at this films budget, however there are some shaky scenes towards the end as well as some of the moving exterior shots. The alien, “Calvin”, in my opinion is very well designed, I am pretty sure it is original, as well as terrifying in most scenes “he” appears, although by the end of the film I was feeling sorry for it and was wondering why we all just couldn’t get along.

    The film is cast extremely well with the characters of Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson) and David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal) given the most to do, as well as having the most depth for them to play with. The cast is round out with Ryan Reynolds who doesn’t miss a beat with his personality and motor mouth – the one thing I did think was he was a bit of stunt casting to draw people into the cinema. I have to admit that I really enjoy seeing Reynolds given the chance just to do what he does best, look good and talk.

    The best thing to do before going to this film is to avoid all spoilers, go in clean and be prepared to be shocked as well as seeing a lot of blood and horror. The alien looks excellent as well as gross – it is not a humanoid at all, this for me is a relief. I am pretty sick of creatures from another world taking humans over or assimilating them, I think this has been done to death and the very idea of a new creature being created is a great idea and one not done enough in cinema.

    Now that this and “Alien: Covenant” (2017) have been released I have to say that I prefer this film, it is a little more original as well as having way less plot baggage than the later.

    If you like a good Sci-Fi with scares, the idea of the world hanging in the balance and some good performances from some really great actors then this is the film for you. Just go in with no spoilers or expectations, and you will have a good time. This has a high level of re-watchability.

    “Life” is out now on DVD & Blu-ray.

    David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal) in Columbia Pictures’ LIFE.
  • Film review: “Transformers: The Last Knight” (2017)

    Film review: “Transformers: The Last Knight” (2017)

    “Transformers: The Last Knight” (2017)

    Sci-Fi/Action

    3-stars

    Running Time: 149 minutes

    Written by: Art Marcum, Matt Holloway and Ken Nolan

    Directed by: Michael Bay

    Featuring: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins and John Turturro

    Sir Edmund Burton: “It started as a legend, one of the greatest of all… For a thousand years, we’ve kept it hidden, to protect Earth from what is expected to arrive…”

    One thing about Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers” movies is that every single one of them boast an ‘A’ list cast, it seems that there is an endless queue of actors just waiting to be in this now five picture series. In “Transformers: The Last Knight” (2017) the latest big name actor to appear is the great Anthony Hopkins who chews scenery like the pro you would expect him to be – it is easy to see he knows exactly what kind of film this is – even if other members of the cast seem a little lost within this franchise. The question is now, after all these films that seem to be eerily similar, can there be anything more to see and experience from a new movie as well as is there a plot that can convince people to pony up the bills to not only go and see this movie but to take the family as well?

    I am not a Michael Bay hater at all, in fact I probably like most of his movies, he is unashamedly a male movie director, caring little for anything else, I truly believe he loves movies wanting to make movies that he wants to see. Bay has the clout to pretty much do anything he would like, yet he has continually returned to the ‘Transformers’ Universe even though with each movie he says it will be his very last – something he has echoed in the last few days unsurprisingly. Why wouldn’t he return, the last four ‘Transformer’ movies have generated almost US$4 billion at the international box office – surely one of the biggest franchises in film history. These movies gave Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox, Tyrese Gibson careers, as well as solidifying Mark Wahlberg as a box office giant. They also created great over the top roles for character actors John Turturro, Jon Voight, Stanley Tucci, TJ Miller and Kelsey Grammer to name a few.

    There is much to like with these movies, of course there is much to dismiss – one of these is the bloated running times, another is the action which at times can be hard to follow – something that harkens back to the first film and continues through to this fifth one.

    This new Transformers movie is concerned with the absence of Optimus Prime and the war that has commenced between the Transformers Reaction Force (humans) and the Transformers. To save their world, Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) forms an alliance with Bumblebee, an astronomer named Sir Edmond Burton (Anthony Hopkins), and an Oxford University professor named Viviane Wembley (Laura Haddock) to learn the secrets of why the Transformers keep coming back to Earth.

    I am not going to get into plot details but needless to say Bay and his new team of screenwriters have attempted to keep the plot simple as much as they can, however I did feel myself start to get a little confused at one point with the myriad of characters as well as their motivations. There is a lot to the story that seems to contradict itself particularly in the last thirty to forty minutes. In terms of that if you are willing to let these elements go then you will be able to cope, however if plot is important to you then you probably shouldn’t be watching this movie.

    There are a few reasons why I actually enjoy these movies; I am talking specifically about the Transformer films here, not overblown expensive and non-sensical blockbusters as a rule. I really like Optimus Prime as a characters as well as a hero, he leads a seemingly endless, while small number of characters, the highlight of them is always Bumblebee. Prime’s home, Cybertron, has been left broken (there have been a few reasons given) as a refugee from space he is really trying to fit in and do his best for his people among humans. The action and special effects are almost always excellent, although the way in which they have been directed have been uneven over the entire run of these movies, a problem that is getting solved a little better with this film especially. I found it was much easier to follow what was happening onscreen, this could have something to do with a lot more wider shots being incorporated by Bay and his special effects team. The other thing that I enjoy is that whilst they attempt to be broad in scope as well as onscreen, they are nothing more than the original cartoon version’s brought to life at cinemas, they are escapist where there is a good guy as well as a bad guy, one will win, one will lose. Of course Bay overly complicates this by having multiple good and bad guys with different (not really) motivations but in the end it is always sorted out – the good guys win and vanquish the baddies. Of course the issue always is where to go to next, Bay has an answer, as does his new cadre of writers – or so they would have us believe – but i saw nothing here that was really new enough to justify the running time let alone another movie but as long as audiences keep turning up at the cinemas, the will keep churning them out.

    After saying all that there are still issues with the movies, it mostly for me boils down to plot as well as narrative choices that are made – as well as characters that are introduced, then dumped for no reason, then having choices made that seem to contradict motivations that have been set up either in the current story or previous films. More troubling, particularly with this current installment is the fact that the finale is not one, as we are given a pre-ending credits sequence that vainly attempts to set up another film, making me feel like I just sat through two and a half hours for nothing more than reinstating Prime’s home, Cybertron,  world as a macguffin for the number six.

    As I have said there are any number of good actors that appear in these movies, the reason to have them is that they are the ones bringing the story to life, in this case the three standouts are Mark Wahlberg, Laura Haddock and the great Anthony Hopkins. These three main characters, when together onscreen, or just interacting with each other, really made this movie fun for me – even when the plot was way out of control or over the top. Wahlberg has turned into such a star that it is easy to forget he has made some pretty terrific films, just over the last year he has appeared in two legitimately great under seen films in “Patriots Day” (2016) as well as “Deepwater Horizon” (2016), both directed by Peter Berg. Here he carries a movie that could have dreadful but is saved by his expert ability to incorporate not only massive amounts of green screen acting but also bringing in two other actors to let them showcase their own skill. The highlight for me was Anthony Hopkins, brilliantly playing his age, acting against at times, green screens, other actors, a phone as well as giving great reaction shots – my favorite is him flipping people off during a high speed chase. Laura Haddock who almost plays like a Megan Fox lookalike comes into her own towards the end of the film, she could have been just another Bay babe, but has the chops to know what film she is in, and unlike previous versions of her character has much more experience in film to be treated too badly – I mean she seems to be playing her age – 31 – and has multiple degrees – so I think that is a step up from previous versions of this character.

    Another thing that Bay has seemed to want to do is make some narrative sense out of the previous films, by not only upping the reason why Sam (Shia LeBeouf) was so important in the first three films – it involves his heritage and the great Witwicky name, but also bringing back John Turturro as some kind of Transformer legend expert – although he spends the entire film on a phone from Cuba – which was a little jarring – the entirety of this sub-sub-plot could have been removed easily with no harm to the plot – yes I used the word plot.

    This is primarily an action movie with a sci-fi twist as well additions of humour, that is it – it is not a drama or a war film (although I think Bay may have grander things in mind). The best action films always move forward in terms of narrative, plot as well as the action itself – if it doesn’t do this it fails. One of the best action/sci-fi films that did this was James Cameron’s “Terminator” (1984), it was exposition heavy but when something was explained to the audience there were action set pieces taking place so we felt like it was perfectly natural – by the way it always lowers the running time of the movie, something Bay could take lessons from. What we have with these Transformer movies is action then explanation then more action – not only that it seems the action has nothing to do with the story, even with the massive ending, there are major holes of logic where the goal of the movie just keeps changing to encompass these huge CGI scenes, of really, after a while, is of  little interest.

    It’s a real shame to see how this movie turns out; I thought there was going to be more meat on the bones, especially with Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci returning to the movie – it seemed there was going to be a logical progression from number four, but this is put to rest in the opening scenes of Camelot (oh dear), with a particularly nasty bait and switch with Tucci, then an exposition heavy catch up on where we are in terms of the Transformers – by then I was more than a little confused as well as let down. The other element I disliked, which added to the confusion was the arbitrary way characters enter the story, disappear completely, then reappear, again for no real good reason. My feeling was that this was not a completed script with the special effects being planned before anything else – to me it feels like an Ed Wood film with hundreds of millions of dollars thrown at it. Look I have no problem knowing that people will go to this movie, but the question remains will enough people go to make a sequel worthwhile – who knows? There is some kind of Bumblebee movie planned for next year, but at this stage it may be too little too late for that character to have any impact on this behemoth of a franchise.

    After all that I would actually say that this is an action movie that is PG, so all the family can enjoy it for what it is – a truly forgettable popcorn movie – it lacks the heart of Marvel films but also eschews the darkness of those terrible DC movies as well. It is more concerned with wowing an audience with CGI characters that are mostly fun but lack depth. This is the perfect example of a post-modern action film, there is nothing new to be added to a shallow legend, it has all been done before, but maybe thats the comfort of the Transformer movies. When I was a child I would have loved these movies, after all that is who they are aimed at. Just remember that it is two and a half hours long, so hang on in there for the very long haul.

    “Transformers: The Last Knight” is out now only in cinemas.

     

  • DVD & Blu-ray Review: “Logan” (2017)

    DVD & Blu-ray Review: “Logan” (2017)

    “Logan” (2017)

    Action/Thriller

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    Running Time: 135 minutes

    Directed by: James Mangold

    Featuring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Dafne Keen, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal and Elizabeth Rodriguez

    Charles Xavier: “Logan, what did you do?”

    Logan: “The world is not the same as it was, Charles. Mutants… they’re gone now.”

    Never has one movie owed more to another movie than in this case, “Logan” (2017) owes a huge debt of to not only “Deadpool” (2016) but to Ryan Reynolds as well. “Deadpool” was the first R-rated (an American term) comic film to do huge global box office as well as getting rave reviews and setting up an erstwhile franchise it also broke new ground in terms of what a comic book movie could be. Both of these movies incorporate their own meta meanings into their plots as well as pushing the narratives of both along.

    “Logan” (2017),  as the title suggests seems to be distancing this current film from the two previous efforts, the average “The Wolverine” (2013) and the supremely inferior ”X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009), all three spin-offs from the X-Men series of films. A very wise move for a number of reasons, if you have seen the previews you will see why – this is a very different comic book and Wolverine film, it not only takes place in an all too real future it also embraces its own pop culture narrative – in its own unique way of course.

    This is also the long touted last time Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart will play Logan/Wolverine and Professor X/Professor Charles Xavier in this comic book cinematic universe. It is fitting this has come to pass for no better reason than this is one of the greatest comic films put to screen – in fact I will take the previous two efforts if I am left with this one – it shines a shadow over all the X-movies, except maybe X2, still the one to beat.

    “Logan” is set in the near future, one in which no new mutants have been born in two decades. As their numbers dwindled, Professor X’s (Patrick Stewart) dreams of a new stage in evolution slowly died. Logan (Hugh Jackman) is scraping a living as a limo driver in the town on the Mexican border and hustling for medication that he takes out south to a remote, makeshift home he shares with Caliban (Stephen Merchant), nursemaid to the infirm Professor X. Logan attempts to hide from the world and his legacy. However, when a mysterious woman (Elizabeth Rodriguez) asks for Logan’s help with Laura (Dafne Keen), a young mutant being pursued by dark forces, he is drawn back into action despite his hopelessness.

    First up Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart nail their roles, as usual, but it always seems there is something more in them this time, maybe because they are both playing super heroes on the downside of their lives, for very different reasons. However, as is the case with these type of films the supporting cast really make the film that much better and believable, here we find the comic actor Stephen Merchant shine as Caliban a mutant with the power to sense other mutants and the incredible Dafne Keen as Laura (or if you like X-23) – Dafne is amazing and steals the film as a mutant being hunted by her creators. It is one of the more memorable cinematic debuts ever and in particular in a blockbuster.

    The film is directed and co-written by James Mangold, who also directed “The Wolverine” (2013), who I feel had some unfinished business with the character and ably puts his stamp on this film. Mangold who has directed both big and small budgeted films acquits himself here nicely. As you watch the film you feel you are in the right hands, it is also obvious Mangold had a vision and an ending he wanted to get to without a trace of irony to be found. Make no bones about it this was a tough assignment for all involved but Mangold has not had an easy run of it over the past few years – however with this film he has knocked it out of the park. Onscreen it is obvious that everyone wanted to make the best movie possible and wanted to round out this trilogy on the very strongest notes, and they succeed in ways few films do. They embrace the flaws of the previous installments and make Logan a three-dimensional character that feels like he has nothing to lose, has fought the good fight and in his mind has lost everything.

    There is so much going on in this film, there are issues of serious mental illness, as well as what happens when an entire way of life disappears, are there second acts truly for people who have lost everything? I don’t think there has ever been a comic book movie like this, one that explores what it means to be all-powerful in one life and then be hobbled in another. This film is so much about the future of a race of people that have been pushed to the brink of extinction and are brought back by the goodwill of a hero who is wiling to sacrifice everything for the good of the many. When the X-Men were created they were an allegory of the civil rights movement and over the years have represented other minorities in US and later in international culture – more than any other comic before or since they spoke to the perceived outsiders in popular culture. Only now could we say we need a film like this for the masses than ever before with the hostile environment that exists within not only US culture but seemingly the entire Western World.

    I admit it is difficult to watch both Logan and Charles in both cases broken men, both physically paying for their past deeds and actions. I have grown up with these characters both on paper and onscreen, in previous efforts never once do you feel there are real stakes in terms of their success and survival no matter who they face, Apocalypse, Magneto or anyone else. In this film there is everything to play for, we even see Logan get badly beaten by some thugs at the beginning of the film, so the very real question is what happens to a broken down old mutant. I will leave you to discover this, but I assure you this film is original in almost every way.

    This is the supposed last outing for both Jackman and Stewart so that should be reason enough to see this film, it is not the only one which is great, this is a fantastic film and I would rate it in the top five comic book films, it is that great. We are being given the best X-Men film yet it is incredibly rewatchable, something that everyone should own. All the character’s are drawn well, the action is incredible and there are at leat three or four surprises you will not see coming. Highly recommended.

    “Logan” is out now on DVD & Blu-ray.

  • Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Eight: “Come to Jesus”

    Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Eight: “Come to Jesus”

    “American Gods” (2017)

    Fantasy/Horror

    5stars_small

    8 Episodes

    Produced by: Bryan Fuller and Michael Green

    Featuring: Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, Pablo Schreiber and Ian McShane

    The series focuses on Shadow Moon, a man serving three years in prison. With only days remaining in his sentence, Shadow is given an unexpected early release after his beloved wife Laura is killed. Shadow finds himself next to a man named Wednesday, who offers Shadow a job. Wednesday appears to be nothing but a con artist who needs Shadow as a bodyguard. Season One concludes…

    Episode Eight: “Come to Jesus”

    Cinematographer: Darran Tiernan

    Directed by: Floria Sigismondi

    Where would “American Gods” be without one more “Coming to America” which serves as a bit of a bookend to the first episode as it features the beautiful and completely original femme fatale Bilquis. What we see now is how this old God used to feed in not only belief but also in the orgies that were acted upon in her name – a great and familiar scene on par with the lover eating from the first time we saw her many weeks ago. As with all the old Gods she fell out of memory, we witness how she attempted to stay in her followers minds – in the 1970s Middle East where ‘man’ corrupted her religion forcing her tp travel to America where she quickly forgets her own identity – we also see her possibly siding with New Gods in a  very foreboding way – although that will probably be followed up on in the second season.

    As usual I am not going to spoil any surprises, but as usual as each week passes we are introduced to new characters in the way of Gods, with this week being no exception. We are also treated to another cameo in the form of the newly introduced embodiment of Easter, in the form of the always-delightful Kristin Chenoweth, as well as a multitude of Jesus’s, the prime one being played by the excellent Jeremy Davies.

    Of course Mr. Wednesday is attempting to recruit ‘Easter’ in his upcoming fight, in this he reveals himself to be the Norse God Odin – not only that but Shadow seems to be finally getting the hang of the entire belief system as well as the pure power of it. Shadow makes his break through with the idea of Easter being personified in the form of a woman. He says, “people believe in Easter and so Easter is a person.”

    This season has seen some great acting talent but the gift that keeps giving are really two fold, as well as becoming the MVP’s of season one – Emily Browning as the foul mouthed husband betraying crook, Laura, as well as the magnificent Pablo Schreiber as the foul mouthed unlucky crooked leprechaun Mad Sweeney. It’s funny and highly original that “American Gods” has been about relationships old and new. With Shadow and Laura who had a relationship built in love and trust, whilst the old Gods had the very same with their multitude of followers, but now most of them have either become a “Hope and Crosby” road movie, Shadow and Wednesday, or a mismatched Rom-Com, Sweeney and Laura.

    However this episode like the previous season is all about belief, it is something that has stayed strong throughout these eight episodes, it ends on what belief can be as well as what it can do. So, the old Gods grit their teeth and using their power strike the first blow against the new Gods letting them know they are not done with yet – it is actually quite frightening, as with all planned out modern shows there is a cliffhanger – which I enjoyed but others in my household felt a little let down, with a hollow feeling to what as been a lethargic journey.

    Once again the look of this episode like the rest of the series is original and incredible with the highlights being the shooting of Kristin Chenoweth as Easter. Chenoweth looks amazing as well as powerful, her make up is fantastic as well – we see at least three different versions of Easter throughout the episode – the final persona of power is the best as well as the most fiercely scary – maybe more than Odin himself. The director of this episode is Floria Sigismondi the first female behind the scenes, she is a breath of fresh air, formally a music video director, here she brings all her talent to bear on this season ending episode.

    I loved the book this series is based on and I love this television show – I am a fan. I have one quibble, it is minor, but I wish this show was on Netflix or had been released all at once by Amazon. The reason I did not despair with the perceived slow release of information over eight weeks was because I generally knew where we were going, as well as who the players were,  I still know what is to come. I believe this show would have been better served by having all the episodes available to watch as one large chapter – it would have meant that the compressed time might have had the effect of speeding the plot up. It remains to be seen whether the comments about the show being slow will mean Amazon might have the courage next year to ramp up the release.

    Amazon like an early Netflix are ramping up their production, green lighting new shows all over the place as well as having a few existing shows that are in their second, third and fourth seasons which is a good thing for getting new content but can also mean that if something is seen as not performing the axe could be swift. Some early good news was that “American Gods” will definitely get a second season, which will be at least halfway through Bryan Fullers planned three or four seasons, this will give the show enough episodes to at least find its legs.

    Episode eight is now available on Amazon Streaming. Which also means that the entire first season can now be binge watched for greater enjoyment. Yay!

    American Gods Season 1 2017 Bruce Langley (Technical Boy), Ricky Whittle (Shadow Moon), Ian McShane (Mr Wednesday), Crispin Glover (Mr. World) – 105 CR: Jan Thijs/Starz
    American Gods Season 1 2017

     

     

  • Film Review: “My Cousin Rachel” (2017)

    Film Review: “My Cousin Rachel” (2017)

    “My Cousin Rachel” (2017)

    Thriller/Drama

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    Running Time: 106 minutes

    Written & Directed by: Roger Michell

    Featuring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen and Holliday Grainger

    Philip: “Whatever it cost my cousin in pain and suffering before he died I will return with full measure upon the woman that caused it.”

    If you have never heard of author Daphne Du Maurier that is a loss you can solve by going and finding some of her books, reading them and coming back to this review, maybe start with the novel that is the basis for this review, ‘My Cousin Rachel’. In fact you may have seen her two most popular works as Alfred Hitchcock films, the timeless “Rebecca” (1940) as well as “Spellbound” (1945) which had hallmarks of Du Maurier’s work, the supernatural, lost love and a heightened sexuality in many of her creations. Some of these can also be found in Roger Michell’s film adaptation “My Cousin Rachel” (2017), which will have you enthralled not just with the story but the performances of the leads Sam Claflin and Rachel Weisz. There is a real air of mystery to this story that strikes a note with modernity as well as the time it is set in.

    The film is primarily concerned with Philip (Sam Claflin), a young Englishman who finds his cousin Ambrose (also played by Claflin) dead after traveling to Florence, Italy. He vows revenge against Ambrose’s missing wife Rachel (Rachel Weisz), blaming her for his untimely demise. When Philip meets Rachel for the first time, his mood suddenly changes as he finds himself falling for her seductive charm and beauty. As his obsession for her grows, Rachel now hatches a scheme to win back her late husband’s estate from the unsuspecting Philip.

    Whilst “My Cousin Rachel” could be seen as a thriller as well as a ensemble piece the real thrust of the story, as well as the reason for any thriller aspects is driven by the excellent performance by Sam Claflin as both Philip and his Uncle Ambrose. I found the character of Philip to be completely fascinating, the word I would use to describe him is juvenile. Once you watch the film you may think he plays the innocent but in fact he has been raised to be ignorant of almost everything to do with relationships as well as perceived outsiders to his family unit of two. In fact he is given the opportunity to expand his horizons, mix with new people of a different social strata as well as receive an education but he spurns this as he sees this as unimportant, something he will of course later regret, as he is clueless about anything outside his extremely narrow field of vision.

    The very reason that Rachel is a mystery as well as the reason that she is able to spin her web, entrapping Philip seems so obvious to not only the audience but to all of his friends  – the only others that seem not to notice Rachel’s hypnotic spell are all the workers and servants that work for Philip – much like they are extensions of his will, they, like him are manipulated by others with no power of their own. In fact the simple fact is that there is no challenge for Rachel, she in fact does very little up to the point Philip makes his sad intentions clear – she is as passive a person or antagonist as I have ever seen in a thriller. It is Philip with his seemingly simple way of viewing the world as well as the people who inhabit it, that he has trouble with. Philip is completely without the ability to rationalize his thoughts in terms of anything he does immediately, understanding and reacting with emotion whilst putting logic to one side, he is a pure emotional being, not confined to one he seems to be only able to cope with one at a time, anything outside of that does not compute.

    In fact the film is so closely associated with Philip that every scene only concerns Philip, his relentless drive towards some truth about his own situation. In saying that of course it means that the lead actor has to be on his game – in that, Sam Claflin, who plays the protagonist is excellent here as the Philip – he has to carry this entire movie from beginning to its gripping, sad, conclusion – he has the opening narrative dialogue as well as the haunting final statement. Claflin has been making some extremely interesting choices in terms of movies this year, one only has to watch the excellent Dunkirk film “Their Finest” (2017) to see that. He strikes me as a more austere and serious Hugh Grant, which believe me is a compliment. Claflin could be making bigger budgeted movies or be the lead in charming indies, but sees to have chosen a slightly different route – not unlike his peer Dan Stevens.

    The rest of the cast is rounded out with some great English talent, no more so than Oscar winner and titular character Rachel Weisz, who plays the role of Rachel with reserve as well as a hint of coldness – watching her you are not sure really what her motivations are at all, she enters the film about a quarter of the way in, all the while being built up to some kind of super woman that has a true dark side. Of course the reality of her arrival is not what Philip or the audience expect, like most things the expectant evil genius is not what she seems, or is she? The two other actors that witness what is going on are “Game of Thrones” stalwart Iain Glen, as Philips legal guardian, Nick Kendall, and Holliday Grainger as his daughter, Louise. As you would expect they are both excellent, underplaying the happenings in Philips life, trying to not get in the way until it really is far too late for the plot, which ends up snowballing to its eventual climax.

    Roger Michell, the director as well as adapter of the original novel has created a real elegant looking film, that owes a debt to Kubrick’s “Barry Lydon” (1975), with its lush settings, real props, on the nose art direction, but most importantly its use of subtle source lighting that has to be seen to be believed. Michell who is South African born had had a varied career with his biggest hit being the Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant classic “Notting Hill” (1999), it is with “My Cousin Rachel” he has created his best most personal work to date – when I view this film it seems to me he is in complete control of performance as well as camera. The elegant nature of the daytime scenes, as well as scenery is as good as it gets – there is one scene in a barn full of hay with Phillip in conversation with Louise that looked like a painting from the period, shafts of light entering windows up high – just breathtaking.

    In case you have not guessed I really enjoyed this film, it stayed with me many days after I had seen it, mainly because of the relieve complexity of the plot, it does remind me of elements of “Gone Girl” (2014) with a female protagonist as an unreliable narrator – even though in this film it is a male narrator who is letting us in on the story. What is interesting here is the way in which Rachel is able to manipulate almost everyone around her not only with ease but also with a real lack of action. It is almost like people see in her what they want to see – their own emotions are cast back at them – we see what we want to see until it is too late.

    I thoroughly recommend this film to people who enjoy thrillers that are not only based around gender as well as the standings of people but that will not mind the steady pacing that could leave some modern audiences craving some movement as well as a complete ending.

    “My Cousin Rachel” is out now in cinemas only.

    Actor Sam Claflin and Pierfrancesco Favino are seen on the set of the movie My Cousin Rachel on June 06, 2016 in Arezzo, Italy. Photo BEESCOOP.COM exclusive
  • DVD/Blu-ray Review: “Split” (2017)

    DVD/Blu-ray Review: “Split” (2017)

    “Split” (2017)

    images

    Thriller/Horror

    Running Time: 117 minutes

    Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

    Featuring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson and Betty Buckley

    Dr. Fletcher: “An individual with multiple personalities can change their body chemistry with their thoughts.”

    M. Night Shyamalan has been making films for some time now and achieved huge world-wide success with his second film, “The Sixth Sense” (1999) but since then has had mixed critical and box office success. His follow up to “The Sixth Sense” was one of the first post-modern superhero films, “Unbreakable” (2000), one of the most under-rated films of the past twenty years. There is nothing wrong with that but he set the bar so high early on that when he makes a miss-step people seem to pile on in droves. I have enjoyed most of his films, he seemed to have a fresh take on the horror genre with “The Visit” (2015), a collaboration with the Blumhouse production company, and so it comes as no surprise he should revisit the genre with “Split” (2017) – this time mixing new talent with some experienced actors.

    “Split” was released earlier this year at theatres making a huge amount of money worldwide, a sequel is already being written, but not the direct sequel you might think, this will only be apparent once this film is watched – remember to stay right to the end.

    The film finds three teenagers, Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), kidnapped by “Dennis”, one of the 23 split personalities inhabiting the body of Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), a victim of childhood abuse with severe dissociative identity disorder, and held captive in a cellar. Kevin’s psychiatrist, Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), who believes that in such cases the psychological unbalance can cause physiological changes, is concerned to find an email from Kevin’s dominant personality, “Barry”, asking for a meeting. Over the years Kevin has been treated, he appears to be stable: all of his personalities sit in chairs in a room, waiting for their turn “in the light” (controlling the body), while “Barry” controls who gets to go in the light.

    At the heart of this film lies the performance of James McAvoy, if this movie has a chance of succeeding it is going to be through his performance of the various personalities that are going to be on display. Of course McAvoy has been in plenty of genre movies before, he knows how to play to the camera with extreme characters, it just so happens that here he plays more than one in one film. McAvoy has great skill in choosing how to play each personality, here he is ably assisted by Shyamalan who at this stage has no problems in directing characters with strong personalities while balancing the performance with the storyline, where required.

    Shyamalan, as I have mentioned is coming off an excellent last project so it makes a certain sense to see if he can not only revisit that well, but up the stakes in terms of both the storyline, actors and genre. He adjusts his directing style to the budget and the themes of this new movie. McAvoy is shot mostly in close up to intensify the changes in his behaviors and physical nature – which as the film movies on is revealef more and more. The full impact and nature of Kevin’s issues are not really revealed until the ending, and then the epilogue-like ending should be quite revealing for those that don’t know about it.

    The other central characters is Anya Taylor-Joy’s Casey, who as the film reveals has her own demons to deal with, which are all too real, we see these in flashbacks which come as she sleeps – so she is trying to push them down into her sub-conscious which is not working. As it turns out she and Kevin are both victims but deal with their emotions in a completely different manor. I will always find it amusing that many mental health issues are vilified and used to drive horror films to the precipice of the supernatural and then blur the lines – which is what happens here. Anya Taylor-Joy whilst having appeared in two other horror films, “The Witch” (2016) and “Morgan” (2016), this year alone, plays a very different part, not the girl being used or the killing machine, this time she is a hybrid of sorts that kicks ass when required.

    This is a genre film so it does follow certain tropes, which it actually needs to so that it can also subvert the very same genre, which it does.. at times. There is a sub-plot involving Kevin’s psychiatrist which seems to only act as an information dump about the condition, but in truth this could have been excised and tightened the pace up a bit – this is something that Shyamalan does do to seemingly fatten his films out, but it really is not needed.

    The film feels claustrophobic at its very heart both with the location of the abduction as well as the fact that Kevin is trapped in his own mind surrounded by voices that will not let up and must be confusing to him, much like his real life captives who are in a disoriented world of their own.

    One word of caution I would not read anything that would spoil this film,  whilst the word Shyamalan has been used as a verb to describe his endings this one does not have the twist you might be expecting from him, but there is still an ending that should satisfy the people that have long been fans of his films.

    This is an excellent genre film and I can honestly recommend this very highly and its worth going to see at the theatres, with a group of people and it wont hurt to have seen a few Shyamalan movies previously, I would recommend “Unbreakable” (2000).

    “Split” is released today on DVD & Blu-ray.

  • DVD review: “Trespass Against Us” (2017)

    DVD review: “Trespass Against Us” (2017)

    “Trespass Against Us” (2017)

    Thriller/Drama

    2,0

    Directed by: Adam Smith

    Featuring: Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Sean Harris, Lyndsey Marshal, Rory Kinnear, and Killian Scott

    Colby Cutler: “Blessed are the cracked.”

    Who is Michael Fassbender, and what does he want to be? These are both good question’s to think about after viewing this movie. He has to be one of the hardest working mainstream actors in film today – since his huge break in “300” (2006) he has averaged almost four films per year – that’s not counting shorts and television appearances. In the vast majority of these films he is either the lead or one of the top co-stars. He has amassed a large body of work, has appeared in some major directors films as well as a handful of first time directors. It is admirable that Fassbender supports first time directors or screenwriters, here he is doing both but I cant help but think the outcome was not what he had in mind.

    “Trespass Against Us” (2017) is set across three generations of the Cutler family who live as outlaws in their own anarchic corner of Britain’s richest countryside. Chad Cutler (Michael Fassbender) is heir apparent to his bruising criminal father, Colby (Brendan Gleeson) and has been groomed to spend his life hunting, thieving and tormenting the police. But with his own son, Tyson (Georgie Smith) coming of age, Chad soon finds himself locked in a battle with his father for the future of his young family. When Colby learns of Chad’s dreams for another life he sets out to tie his son and grandson into his life. The quality of storytelling and direction is very low, it does not match the talent in from of the camera.

    The film not only has Fassbender appearing but also the incredibly talented Brendan Gleeson who shines here in a role where he leaves nothing on the page,  I can see why he accepted as the appeal to play this part must have been pretty high. The other major talents in supporting roles are Rory Kinnear and Sean Harris. To be perfectly honest it was the cast that drew me into this film, I can imagine other people feeling the same way. Whats not to love with this cast and the story about an English underworld we might not have seen before on television, but have seen elsewhere.

    Unfortunately what we are served up by first time film director Adam Smith and first time screenwriter Alastair Siddons is a pastiche of a film culled from better gangster films such as “Snatch” (2000), “Face” (1997) and too others too numerable to mention. In my mind this is a film that looks and feels like a project and something to complete, especially when you have Fassbender and Gleeson interested in doing your film.

    In respect to this film and future like films it would be wise for both Fassbender and Gleeson to choose their projects more wisely, and maybe do some research on the director or storyline first. Both of these actors are great, always entertaining to watch on whatever they are in, but maybe they need to take a breath, as well as realising that they only reputations they hurt are there own.

    This is not to say this is a terrible film but not one worth going out to the movies for, in the old days this may have been a title that would be considered a high ‘B’ title and would be released direct to a video/DVD rental store.

    Unfortunately there are no rental stores left so I would only watch this if it was on a streaming service – it is not a great experience but could be a diversionary one on another service.

  • Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Seven: “A prayer for Mad Sweeney”

    Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Seven: “A prayer for Mad Sweeney”

    “American Gods” (2017)

    Fantasy/Horror

    5stars_small

    8 Episodes

    Produced by: Bryan Fuller and Michael Green

    Featuring: Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, Pablo Schreiber and Ian McShane

    The series focuses on Shadow Moon, a man serving three years in prison. With only days remaining in his sentence, Shadow is given an unexpected early release after his beloved wife Laura is killed. Shadow finds himself next to a man named Wednesday, who offers Shadow a job. Wednesday appears to be nothing but a con artist who needs Shadow as a bodyguard. The story continues…

    Episode Seven: “A prayer for Mad Sweeney

    Cinematographer: Darran Tiernan

    Directed by: Adam Kane

    This week we have a very different episode of “American Gods”, in that it is a hybrid of separate devices that we have seen earlier, one are the prologues that we have been in almost every week’s episodes, as well as the flashback episode, the example is the one that illustrated Laura Moon’s past as well as her eventual death, including her obvious resurrection.

    As the title suggests this week we have an entire mythology episode that is all about my favorite character, Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber), who has continually stolen every scene and episode he has appeared in. In this episode we see his history played out in a more sympathetic way than you might think, once again we see Emily Browning take on a larger role this time as a faerie who has more to do with Sweeney than he would care to admit.

    Of course with all of the characters in this series there is much more to them than meets the eye or first impressions would let us in on. In fact in Sweeney’s case we see that he has a real haunted past, he has been made to straighten things out for our main proto-antagonist Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) on a variety of occasions as well as for a variety of reasons. It of course will illicit some feelings of sorrow for the old leprechaun but he will always find a way to ruin that for himself and us.

    The show for me has been a revelation, the producers seem to be getting used to their method of story telling as well as handling the constant road tripping that has been taking place over the first season. Like the cast we are zipping along American highways meeting interesting folk who are going to be destined to play huge parts in the fast approaching future.

    It seems inevitable that the show will crystalize at some point, becoming a week to week battle of not only wills but belief structures as well. This was, of course, never going to be straight forward show; especially early on it asked much of an audience who was not aware of the novel. However, for those that have read, as well as re-read the source material, each week has been a gift. Not only has the story highlighted some of the greatest parts of that book, but has also segwayed into new parts that had been relatively untouched by Mr. Gaiman. This is what the gift has been, like all great adaptations it is the feel as well as look of the source material in the new medium that is the thing to behold.

    Once again, and this is something I find amazing, is the look of the show, it is nothing short of breathtaking, Mr. Fuller & Mr. Green have set out a grand palate for each director to follow, so far none of them have missed a bit or a trick – tonight’s episode is no different. Of course the performances are always excellent, with the revelations being Pablo Schreiber and Emily Browning – although if you have seen their previous work this is not news to you.

    My only disappointment is that first season comes to an end next week; I am going to have to wait an entire year for my next fix, after next week of course. Maybe its time to revisit the novel.

    Episode seven is now available on Amazon Streaming.

  • DVD review: “Don’t Think Twice” (2016)

    DVD review: “Don’t Think Twice” (2016)

    “Don’t think twice” (2016)

    3-stars

    Comedy

    Running Time: 92 minutes

    Directed by: Mike Birbiglia

    Featuring: Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, Mike Birbiglia

    Bill: “I feel like your 20s are all about hope, and then your 30s are all about realizing how dumb it was to hope.”

    Over the past twenty years or so many of the top US  comedic talent has come from the improv circuit and the troupes that exist there – such as, the Groundlings and Second City – this is what is at the heart of “Don’t Think Twice” (2016). This film was a real treat to watch as I did not know that much about it before hand, it has some excellent and very talented  comedy talent who should be all to familiar to anyone that has an interest in the comedy scene in the US.

    “Don’t Think Twice” follows the members of ‘The Commune’, an improv group that plays to small audiences, little money, and even less recognition. The group’s members include founder Mike (Mike Birbiglia), Jack (Keegan-Michael Key), Samantha (Gillian Jacobs), Allison (Kate Micucci), Lindsay (Tami Sagher), and Bill (Chris Gethard); they all work crappy day jobs to feed the dream of performing comedy professionally, and maybe one day being cast on “Weekend Live,” a fictional version of “Saturday Night Live.” But when one of their own actually gets cast on the show, it sends the rest of the members into an existential spiral as they face the real possibility of never actually “making it.” Amidst feelings of jealousy and despair, the group struggles to move on from the thing they love the most. Check out some exclusive stills from the film below.

    Following a dream is not easy and if you are part of a group of people trying to make a success of yourself it can be hard on those people around you, it can be doubly trying if a colleague and/or friend gets the big break that you want or have dreamed of for some time. The problem of course is that the next step or the idea of making ‘it’ is never the end and one taste of success leads to more, this can be an issue not only for the person who has some success, but also for the people you ‘leave behind’ – the question is what to do with that success help the people you leave or just move forward with new group.

    As mentioned the film is an ensemble, but this is definitely Keegan-Michael Key and Gillian Jacobs film, and interestingly out of all the actors/comedians they have had the greatest success on their own television shows that have been on the air for a number of years and are now almost starting again in the film world – trying to be successful again if you like. Although all the actors in this movie could be playing themselves in terms of their hopes of their own trajectory of success. Like their characters the main players have all written their own material at one point – something that you can see them all doing here – just being creative – whilst they are all attempting to follow their dreams they all have days jobs which is completely realistic.

    Interestingly, “Don’t Think Twice” is director and star Mike Birbiglia’s second film following “Sleepwalk With Me,” an adaptation of his one-man show about his sleepwalking disorder. He’s been performing stand-up comedy for over ten years and he’s appeared in many films and TV shows, including “Orange Is the New Black,” “The Fault In Our Stars,” “Digging For Fire,” “Trainwreck,” and most recently, “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.”

    I feel the film captures aspects of performing and it does this very well with all the success it offers as well as all the opportunities missed and careers nover realized. I started off not sure where it was going but by the end like the characters there is hope for the future and in a semi realistic film this is all you can ask for. Well done Mike and now I cannot wait for more…

    “Don’t Think Twice” is released on DVD on the 14th June.

    If you enjoyed this try:

    “Community” (1999-2015)

    “Key and Peele” (2012-2015)

    Mike Birbiglia’s Secret Public Journal (2008)

    DON’T THINK TWICE, back, from left: Tami Sagher, Mike Birbiglia, Chris Gethard, Kate Micucci, 2016. © The Film Arcade
  • Film review: “The Mummy” (2017)

    Film review: “The Mummy” (2017)

    “The Mummy” (2017)

    Thriller/Action

    3-stars

    Running Time: 107 minutes

    Written by: Ben  David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman

    Directed by:  Alex Kurtzman

    Featuring:  Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari, and Russell Crowe

    Dr. Henry Jekyll: “Welcome to a new world of gods and monsters. “

    Apparently shared universes are the new ‘in’ thing, it is supposed to give a studio the ability to run movies with similar themes parallel to each other without having the hang up of actual sequels – but not doing away with them entirely. This film is supposed to be the launch of a “Dark Universe” that links vampires, mummy’s and all sorts of other traditional Universal monsters – you may have heard of this before, that’s because in 2014 Universal tried to launch it then with “Dracula Untold” (2014) starring Luke Evans and Charles Dance, directed by Gary Shore – it was met with not great reviews or box office so now Universal have decided that it never happened and have opted to re-launch the Universal Monster (UMU maybe?) universe with the Tom Cruise starrer “The Mummy” (2017). Something of an uneven trip that does not always succeed but is something of an enigma – caught between genre poles.

    The film centers on Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) who is a soldier of fortune attempting to plunder ancient sites for timeless artifacts and sells them to the highest bidder. When Nick and his partner come under attack in the Middle East, the ensuing battle accidentally unearths Ahmanet, a betrayed Egyptian princess who was entombed under the desert for thousands of years. With her powers constantly evolving, Morton must now stop the resurrected monster as she embarks on a furious rampage through the streets of London.

    The last time the Mummy movies were remade was in 1999, when Stephen Sommers directed the similarly titled “The Mummy” (1999), that was a worldwide hit featuring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and introduced Arnold Vosloo as the titular character. There were three films in the series and it ended up being extremely successful, if not a little uneven in patches – but made out at the box handsome handsomely. Sommers even had his own idea of linking the monsters, which he failed to launch with the Hugh Jackman starrer “Van Helsing” (2002), which was a major flop for the studio, so plans ended there – or so it seemed.

    Now we have a misguided attempt from producers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman who came to fame as screenwriter’s for J.J. Abrams various film and television projects. Unfortunately for me these two are linked with one of the most over rated screenwriters working today, Damon Lindeloff. Between the three of them they came close to ruining the Star Trek, Alien and Lost franchises. It’s a wonder anyone lets them near their films, I know I wouldn’t. When it come to the this new “The Mummy”, they have attempted to mitigate the risks by casting Tom Cruise as a possible antagonist as well as having a special appearance by Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. Even with these superstars as well as up and coming actress Sofia Boutella as the titular character, fresh of the hit “Kingsman: The Secret Service” (2014), they cannot save this movie from being nothing more than a diversion. It is such a shame because Universal and their monsters have a rich vein in not only scares but also great empathetic characters. One only needs to view the the early 20th century versions to see a well of greatness – in fact one could do worse than rewatching those true classics.

    Tom Cruise, here is trying something new, this is the first horror film, of a kind, that he has appeared in, as well as the first new franchise he has tried to be a part of since his role as Ethan Hunt. His success lies in his ability to commit to each role he takes, here he is a victim as well as an action hero, he seems to be the only one that knows what film he is in – he lends much humor to the film which is sorely lacking from everyone else, which is a real shame. They try and give him a sidekick in the form of Chris Vail played by the excellent and underused Jake Johnson, who appears without any logic or reason as a ghost, much like the Griffin Dunne character in “An American Werewolf in London” (1981) – here it may have been better if he was the sidekick instead of the vapid as well as trope heavy Jenny played with vanilla essence by Annabelle Wallis. Boutella who vamps it up as the mummy, looks like she belongs in this movie, much like Crowe who chews the scenery left, right and center round out the modest cast.

    The film has been competently directed, but when you have the cast and crew as well as a big budget then things should really turn out more dynamic than this has. Looking at the credits, when a film has five people credited as writers something has gone wrong somewhere, this in the end is a fairly standard plot for a mummy movie: Someone finds a sarcophagus, ships it back to blighty, the mummy escapes, curses everyone and is the finally defeated. The narrative too is fairly simple, particularly when there is a voice over explaining everything, as the plot moves forward. Somehow the people behind the camera have really managed to try and seem to make things complicated, have reigned in Cruise producing something that is a little bland – it has not committed completely to being a comedy, an action film, a horror or even a thriller so we have something that is stuck firmly in no mans land – this is something that happens more commonly these days with big budget films.

    Don’t get me wrong this is not a bad movie at all, in fact I would say that it only just misses the mark for a Summer blockbuster. It is no fluke that Tom Cruise makes very good movies, with a quality that is not found with many other people, actors, directors or producers. Interestingly Cruise who is a producer in his own right does not have a production credit on this and I would argue that if he did it would have been a tighter more logical film without many of the plot holes. When you look at movies he has produced they are nothing if not logical as well as being extremely well thought out – look at “The Edge of Tomorrow” (2014), possibly one of the best Sci Fi films of recent years as well as being hellishly original (to a point) – maybe they would have been better off ditching some of the many writers and producers and getting Cruise involved behnd the camera as well.

    Regardless of all that if you like a supernatural action film with some laughs then this could be for you. It is a good film for the family; with no real frights just a lot of action, and you may be pleasantly surprised. The next movie that will be appearing will be “The Bride of Frankenstein” in 2019, featuring Javier Bardem as the monster, that’s if this one has any life in it.

    “The Mummy” is out now only at the movies.

  • DVD/Blu-ray review: “A Streetcat Named Bob” (2017)

    DVD/Blu-ray review: “A Streetcat Named Bob” (2017)

    “A Streetcat Named Bob” (2017)

    Drama/Comedy

    images

    Running Time: 103 minutes

    Directed by: Roger Spottiswoode

    Featuring: Luke Treadaway, Ruta Gedmintas, Joanne Froggatt, Anthony Head and Bob the Cat as himself

    “Cats are notoriously picky about who they like. And if a cat doesn’t like its owner it will go and find another one. Cats do that all the time.”

    ― James Bowen, A Street Cat Named Bob: And How He Saved My Life

    It is with great affection that this week see’s the home release of “A Streetcat Named Bob” (2017), a movie that I highly recommend to all.

    We live our lives surrounded by the natural world that includes many aspects of life – one of these aspects is the connection we have with animals of all different types, some of the most common are cats and dogs – as well as birds and fish. For some reason we feel the need to draw lines that say we like certain animals more or less, for example I had been a dog person most of my life until I met my wife and we both fell in love with cats – so I guess I am a cat person. Some people have to wait their entire lives until they realise the wonders an animal can bring to into their personal situations, this is one of those stories.

    Movies are full of animals both in animated films, documentaries and narrative film. Some of these films are uplifting some are heartbreaking and I can say now that if you have even a small place in your heart for any animal then “A Street Cat Named Bob” (2017) is for you. Based on the book of the same name this tells the story of James Bowen and Bob, his cat and friend.

    Homeless and a recovering drug addict, James Bowen (Luke Treadaway) is running low on his luck. He’s given a last chance to turn his life around by his support worker, Val (Joanne Froggatt), who helps him to finally be given his own flat to live in. As James attempts to build a life and future for himself by busking in Covent Garden, he struggles to gain any traction as the London crowd passes him by. Whilst in the bath one day, he hears a break-in and finds a ginger cat in his kitchen eating the corn flakes. Thinking it belongs to a neighbor, he sets out to find the owner but with no luck concluding that it must be a stray. Over the next few days, the cat continues to linger on the estate, and James discovers an infected wound on the animal’s leg. He takes the cat to be treated by a charity vet and from that point onwards, the two lives become entwined.

    This is the perfect film for people who want to watch the arc of a character  who is at their lowest, cannot see a way forward and is given one break, that leads to something special for everyone, that has something positive to give in life and towards a man, James, who is trying to beat one of the most destructive addictions in our society. Of course he is also helped but the arrival of an animal that could be classed as independent needs as much love and companionship as he does – for all he knows Bob is at his lowest as well. It is a pretty remarkable true story and yes there are embellishments but the ending is happy and true and extremely inspirational. I found myself looking up both characters achievements after the film, it was pretty great to find out their stories.

    Luke Treadaway as James leads the film and his co star for most of the film, Bob played mostly by the real Bob the Cat from the real story and multiple books. It would have been the easy option for director Roger Spottiswoode to have the human cast upstaged by Bob but this does not happen, and Treadaway shines in a role that he must not only act in but also sing and play guitar – and for most of it Bob just looks relaxed and calm knowing he is the star of the movie. Ruta Gedmintas, Joanne Froggatt and Anthony Head are the supporting cast as James neighbor, social worker and father who all throw in advice, support and love where needed but at different times that lead us to the fact that this is not a singular story but one that illustrates that family is not always defined by blood.

    This is actually a great family film with touches of social realism and how something simple can changes lives. It also speaks to the power of family, the generosity of strangers as well the ability to change the path of ones life. This is highly recommended.

    “A Streetcar named Bob” is out now on DVD & Blu-ray.

     

  • Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Six: “A murder of Gods”

    Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Six: “A murder of Gods”

    “American Gods” (2017)

    Fantasy/Horror

    5stars_small

    8 Episodes

    Produced by: Bryan Fuller and Michael Green

    Featuring: Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, Pablo Schreiber and Ian McShane

    The series focuses on Shadow Moon, a man serving three years in prison. With only days remaining in his sentence, Shadow is given an unexpected early release after his beloved wife Laura is killed. Shadow finds himself next to a man named Wednesday, who offers Shadow a job. Wednesday appears to be nothing but a con artist who needs Shadow as a bodyguard. The story continues…

    Episode Six: “A murder of Gods”

    Mad Sweeney: “I’ve done the math. This times that equals you’re a cunt, divided by the only way I’m going to get what I need is if you give it to me, equals the only way you’re going to give it to me is if you don’t need it. Like my friend Jesus Christ, the only thing you need, dead wife, is a resurrection.”
    Laura: “Did you just name drop Jesus Christ like you know a guy who knows a guy?”

    Cinematographer: Aaron Morton

    Directed by: Adam Kane

    This week we have another “Welcome to America” moment with a bunch of Mexican’s crossing the border into the U.S., we are introduced to another of the old Gods, this time its Mexican Jesus who helps his people cross the border, even saving one from the Rio Grande. However the interlopers get a very real Welcome to America from a quasi border patrol, or a firing squad – here we see their Jesus die for their sins – it is a very real and horrific moment where we see a literal possibility facing people daily – for those that believe in the New or the Old Gods. Welcome to America indeed.

    As I have already said this show is all about belief, this is no more so than when Wednesday (Ian McShane) and Shadow (Ricky Whittle) enter the town of Vulcan where belief takes a different turn. The entire town believes in one thing we all recognise as all too American – the belief in guns and ammo. The leader of this town is an old school God who with the Second Amendment as his co pilot is doing better than possibly any other God in the show, even more now that there is an orange haired orangutan in office. The other more pointedly aspect of the town is the periodical sacrifice made to this old God in the form of the accident that fuses a blood sacrifices soul with the bullets this town produces for the rest of America – talk about spreading your influence. Look for the excellent Corbin Bernsen as Vulcan who knows who he is as well as what he is selling to his followers, just creepy stuff that shows when someone knows who he is, then everyone is happy.

    In my mind this show really is just getting started with its attitude toward belief systems new, as well as old. Like the book before it the show is maintaining its look at American life in this new century while staying relevant to these times we live in. We are nearing a point in the show where motivations are becoming more clear, especially in terms of Mr. Wednesday and the strangeness that he is introducing Shadow to.

    The other half of the episode involves Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber), Laura Moon (Emily Browning) and Salim (Omid Abtahi) all on their own trip to a murder of Gods as are Wednesday and Shadow, although they do have their  own motivations to contend with. Look out for the great dialogue between the three of them, just great writing with an eye firmly set on the next few episodes.

    This episode has a new director in Adam Kane as well as a new cinematographer in Aaron Morton both who are following the style and palate set out out earlier by the production team led by Fuller and Co. Both of these gentleman have extensive television experience with a variety of successful episodes under their belts they definitely are bringing their ‘A’ game here. One again I simply cannot wait for more episodes to air.

    “American Gods” is streaming now on Amazon.

    Screengrab pulled by EPs. Original filename: Episode 6 AG-193
  • DVD/Blu-ray review: “Fist Fight” (2017)

    DVD/Blu-ray review: “Fist Fight” (2017)

    “Fist Fight” (2017)

    Comedy

    stars-2-5

    Running Time: 91 minutes

    Directed by: Richie Keen

    Featuring: Ice Cube, Charlie Day, Christina Hendricks, Jillian Bell and Tracy Morgan

    Strickland: “Snitches get stitches.”

    In recent years Ice Cube has been teaming up with veteran comedians (Cedric the Entertainer, Kevin Hart, Jonah Hill, Mike Epps and many others) in fish out of water films that have proven him to be an able straight man in most situations. To be fair the films have been successful business propositions but have failed to garner any real critical success – I assume he was hoping to change that with a high concept idea and a very successful foil in Charlie Day. As a talent Charlie Day is best known for the ensemble TV comedy “Its always sunny in Philadelphia” (2001 – present) where he not only appears onscreen but also co-produces and writes many episodes, oh yes and even writing music for the show. However their teaming up here does not lead to comedy gold.

    “First Fight” is set on the last day of high school where there has been chaos from the students’ senior pranks. Andy Campbell (Charlie Day) was teaching English to the kids but was unamused by the kids’ pranks from the drawing board. History teacher Ron Strickland (Ice Cube) was unamused as well once he witnessed a student turn off the TV and VCR with his smartphone app. Strickland noticed the prank again and used an axe to destroy the boy’s table, which horrified Campbell. Both Campbell and Strickland were brought to Principal Tyler (Dean Norris) for the matter. Campbell convinced Tyler that Strickland started the outburst, for which Strickland was fired. Strickland threatened Campbell for a fist fight sometime after school for making him lose his job.

    I am not going to lie this is not one of those classic comedies that takes a central goofy idea, say “Dodgeball” (2009) and turns it into a must see, now classic – with amazing turns by a great supporting cast that could anchor their own films – and have. What this film does is take quite a good idea and saddle it with a lumpy script that seems to go nowhere – it does however have some great comedic characters actors trying to save the film with their own branded humor, in particular 30 Rock’s, Tracey Morgan who steals the film for the time he is in it.

    Richie Keen who is making his feature film debut as director has great comedic chops from his stint on “Its always sunny in Philadelphia” (and many other sitcoms) while Day is porting over his ‘Charlie’ character to some effect, but like on that show it can wear a little. Ice Cube here is playing for laughs but even that cannot save the film from the script.

    To be honest I would not watch this again, maybe catch up with it on a streaming service.

    Unfortunately “Fist Fight” is out today on DVD & Blu-ray.

  • DVD/Blu-ray Review: “Silence” (2016)

    DVD/Blu-ray Review: “Silence” (2016)

    “Silence” (2016)

    Historical Drama

    images

    Running Time: 161 minutes

    Directed by: Martin Scorsese

    Featuring: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano and Ciarán Hinds

    Ferreira: “I do because you are just like me. You see Jesus in Gethsemane and believe your trial is the same as His. Those five in the pit are suffering too, just like Jesus, but they don’t have your pride. They would never compare themselves to Jesus. Do you have the right to make them suffer? I heard the cries of suffering in this same cell. And I acted.”

    After being snubbed by audience’s as well as the most recent Academy Awards Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” (2016) makes its way quietly onto DVD, Blu-ray and streaming without much fanfare or special treatment which is such a shame and a mixed opportunity as this film really deserved more credit than it received on its initial release.

    “Silence” comes at a time when historical and/or religious epics are far and few between – and maybe that’s a good thing. This film follows Scorsese’s last film, the bloated and overlong “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2012), which suffered from a variety of issues, but my main one was that it appeared to be from a person who was making films out of a duty to, and not because he had an iron in the fire. I have long maintained that Scorsese is not the be all and end all in film, he is definitely not the greatest living filmmaker (as some would have you believe). His work this century has been plodding, muddled and unremarkable. The films he has produced have been adaptions, remakes and historical documents that end up being compromised in some way. Now after a small break comes “Silence” (2016) which I think is something of a return to form.

    This film concerns itself with Portuguese Jesuit priest Alessandro Valignano (Ciarán Hinds) who receives news that Father Cristóvão Ferreira (Liam Neeson), his mentor, in Japan has renounced his faith after being tortured. Ferreira’s pupils, Father Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver), disbelieving he would commit such apostasy, set off to find him.

    Closing borders, persecuted people based on religion and culture, sound familiar? It should, it is what Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” (2017) and the current state of the US have in common. Simply a sad state of affairs that proves we are doomed to repeat history time and time again. Of course the subject matter for Scorsese is extremely personal, his background would attest to that. He is of course a deep thinker, so it is easy to see why this film would be suitable subject matter for him – his films have always been full of Christian iconography and guilt. It is a testament to his power and authority in Hollywood that he was able to get this made at all, it is one of the finest protest movies I have ever seen – it is very difficult to view this without thinking about the world in general and the kinds of racist rhetoric going on at the moment.

    Although there is a lot of voice over (courtesy of Andrew Garfield and later a Dutch sailor) within this film, it cannot be considered a weakness, much like Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line” (1998), which too was loaded with the same narrative technique, it speaks to the world that is inhabited by the central characters, the way in which they interact with the natural and un-natural world alike. This narration like the priests serve a larger purpose – even the language that they are unable to speak is a metaphor of understanding both culturally and religiously.

    In terms of Scorsese’s collaborators on “Silence”, there are three that need to be mentioned, the first is his long time friend and screenwriter Jay Cocks who co-wrote this with Scorsese – on all of the directors most personal projects Cocks has been an undeniable presence, for better or worse. In this case it is important to note that it is the contemplatory nature of the writing that is most important and they both excel at this. Secondly, Rodrigo Prieto, the cinematographer who previously worked with Scorsese on “The Wolf of Wall Street”, and here he has improved a lot, there are some challenging environments for him to shoot in and he succeeds mightily. Where would a Scorsese film be without his longtime partner, friend and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who has worked on all his films since “Raging Bull” (1981) – maybe the longest lasting and most successful partnership in film history?

    There is not much to add to the discourse about the directing by Scorsese, but as usual there are not many master shots and everything is filmed either in close-up, two-shots or lots of camera movement. He has his own way of using actors, foreground and background and loves to have many reaction shots to stressful situations. He has become a master of representing emotional truths on screen – particularly men with which he seems to have dedicated his career to.

    The performances of Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver are excellent and you can see this film and the roles meant much to them – they immersed themselves in their parts and it shows onscreen. Garfield in terms of performance is on a roll at the moment, and it appears he enjoys working with directors and writers who have an idea of the goals of their films. Driver, as well who has become a megastar over the past year illustrates in his time onscreen why he has become so popular with independent and studio directors at the same time. He has a face that is so interesting to look at and it seems to change from film to film. However, this film was always going to live and die with the performances and casting of the Japanese actors, and here “Silence” exceeds expectations. Yôsuke Kubozuka as the alcoholic fisherman, Kichijiro, steals the show, it is a revelatory performance, and I am frankly surprised he ahs not been nominated for an Academy Award for it.

    After seeing the trailers for “Silence”, I was not impressed and prepared not to like or enjoy it, they were not very good at all, they did not really show or explain the film at all – you still have to het people to see it. I felt a little alienated by them, but boy was I wrong.

    This, in my mind is the best Martin Scorsese has produced in years, there is almost not a foot put wrong. Part of this comes from the strong sense of relevance it has, the fact that most of it is in Japanese as well as entering a completely foreign and mysterious world. I remember having the same sense of wonder watching “Goodfellas” (1990) for the first time – I was witnessing something original, but at the same time familiar.

    In case you are wondering you should definitely see this film and enjoy it for what it is, a masterpiece that we see to rarely produced in a Hollywood studio system. It offers truths about human nature as well as the power of belief, whether it is right or wrong. We see the frailty of human beings at their best as well their worst – seeking truths they may never find in this life.

    “Silence” is out 1st June 2017 on DVD and Blu-ray.

  • Streaming review: War Machine” (2017)

    Streaming review: War Machine” (2017)

    “War Machine” (2017)

    Comedy/Drama

    3-stars

    Running Time: 122 minutes

    Director-screenwriter: David Michod

    Based on the book “The Operators: The Wild & Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan” by Michael Hastings

    Featuring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Michael Hall, Anthony Hayes, Topher Grace, Will Poulter, Tilda Swinton and Ben Kingsley

    Gen. Glen McMahon: [to the group of marines] I’ve spent the last week or so talking to guys who I would call middle management, but you boys are at the coal face. After all the blah blah blah, *you* boys are actually where it happens. I’d go so far as to say you boys are the only thing that counts. If it doesn’t happen here, it doesn’t happen, end of story. [to Billy, who raises his hand]

    Gen. Glen McMahon: Yes son? 

    Cpl. Billy Cole: If what doesn’t happen, sir? 

    Gen. Glen McMahon: *It*, son. 

    Cpl. Billy Cole: Okay, thank you, sir. 

    Gen. Glen McMahon: Does anyone here know what “it” is? Anyone? [silence]

    Gen. Glen McMahon: *Any* one? [points to Ricky who’s raised his hand]

    Ricky Ortega: To- uh, secure the area, sir? To protect the people from the enemy so they can go about building their lives. 

    Gen. Glen McMahon: Okay. O-kay. Thank you, Sarge. 

    Cpl. Billy Cole: Okay, but I can’t tell the difference between the people and the enemy. They all look alike to me. I’m sure they’re the same people, sir.

    Australian director David Michod has directed two cracker films, both set in Australia, both featuring some very impressive casts, those being “Animal Kingdom” (2010), nominated for an Oscar, as well as the post apocalyptic film “The Rover” (2014) with Robert Pattinson and Guy Pearce. Now comes a Netflix original movie, produced and starring Brad Pitt, playing semi-fictionalized General Glen McMahon. Going into this movie I am sure that the tone and feeling that both producer and director were going for was a pastiche of wartime Generals and what they have to deal with in terms of the politics versus the actual fighting of a war. The other genre that they wanted was to nail, I am sure is a satire of the behavior of the top brass as well as the top people in Afghanistan, in particular President Karzai – however the film really does fail to deliver on these promises, it ends up being stranded in something of a no mans land – a comedy and a drama, with some war thrown in for good measure. Such a shame when you have the source material (The novel The Operators) as well the team who were behind this film – also a bit of a letdown for Netflix, not that this will even slow them down.

    The premise of the movie is set around a successful, charismatic four-star general, Glenn McMahon (Brad Pitt), who leaps in like a rock star to command NATO forces in Afghanistan, only to be taken down by a journalist’s (Scoot McNairy) no-holds-barred exposé of him as well as his ‘team’. The movie is based on Michael Hastings’ book The Operators, which was based on a Rolling Stone article that is directly referenced within the movie.

    The narrative of the film is extremely linear with a cause and effect plot that is a little too methodical for me, which means the story is formulaic to a fault. Another unfortunate narrative device is the use of voice over to explain what’s going on in almost every aspect of the movie, which I find jarring to the nth degree. Why must I know every aspect of every characters foibles or quirks, in a satire these things should be left up to the viewer, that is part of what makes a great satire in the mold of “M*A*S*H” (1970), or “Three Kings” (1999) to name just a couple. Both of these movies have at least one thing in common and that is a strong director who over a career has shown the ability to identify strongly with an understanding of what makes narrative film different and understandable by viewers.

    Michod, with this project has the advantage of two things going in, a company like Netflix who has given him a free reign to direct and write an adaptation that he feels is the best, and a producer and star Pitt who has given him his full support. In one way they have succeeded is in the casting that goes extremely deep, with actors that are supremely talented and take to their roles like true professionals. The bad news first then, that is that Pitt has chosen an idiosyncratic way to play the General (based on real life General McChrystal – nothing like the characterization by Pitt here) which while on first glance seems humorous and original, after two hours becomes nothing more than a tic as well as quite annoying, On the other hand the rest of the cast is excellent led by co-star Anthony Michal Hall as another General who is McMahon’s aid and chief confidant, he plays it as real as you can imagine someone in his position would be, powerful but not all powerful, unlike his former classmate.

    There is no doubt that there is some commentary about not only war, but also war in the wasteland that is Afghanistan which has led many countries to leave with their tails between their legs – something that will eventually happen to the US. What General McMahon has an answer for which he shares on his ill fated trip to Europe is that violence is not the answer, understanding is, as well as the ability to relate to the people within the country – when you kill an insurgent you create more terrorists who want to kill you at home and abroad. It’s a sad state of affairs that the end of the film sees two very different Generals, the last one is the answer that you would expect – I will leave the explanation to the viewer to discover in the closing moments of the film – it is priceless and typical.

    It is no secret discovering that the hope President Obama had for General McMahon was that he would help with the war in Afghanistan but of course he ends up being fired because of an expose that was written by a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. No matter if you think this dismissal was fair or not, the movie makes it pretty clear that the General was out of his depth. In my opinion what happened in Europe that led to the dismissal, the bad mouthing of President Obama and VP Joe Biden as well the drinking was not that big of a deal but of course in the court of public opinion suddenly puritanism takes hold, there must be a sacrifice – in this case its General McMahon – oh well it makes for a good story – or it should have anyway.

    This movie is not bad it just doesn’t complete what it was made to do, that is to create a knowing satire of not only the war in Afghanistan but the military as well as the politicians, it misses the mark by a little but ultimately it may as well be a lot. This film is worth a watch just for the supporting cast as well as the fact that Netflix really went for it with this film handing the reigns over to relative newcomer Michod as well as Pitt’s own production company (coming off a Best Picture win at this years Academy Awards). If you want something to keep you occupied for a few hours one cold week night this is the movie for you.

    “War Machine” is currently streaming on Netflix.

    Brad Pitt
    War Machine (2017) Brad Pitt
  • Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Five: “Lemon Scented You”

    Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Five: “Lemon Scented You”

    “American Gods” (2017)

    Fantasy/Horror

    5stars_small

    8 Episodes

    Produced by: Bryan Fuller and Michael Green

    Featuring: Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, Pablo Schreiber and Ian McShane

    The series focuses on Shadow Moon, a man serving three years in prison. With only days remaining in his sentence, Shadow is given an unexpected early release after his beloved wife Laura is killed. Shadow finds himself next to a man named Wednesday, who offers Shadow a job. Wednesday appears to be nothing but a con artist who needs Shadow as a bodyguard. The story continues…

    Episode Five: “Lemon Scented You”

    Mad Sweeney: “You are a fucking asshole, dead wife”

    Cinematographer: Darran Tiernan

    Directed by: Vincenzo Natali

    Once again after missing a week the show starts with a short episodic “Coming to America” vignette, this time it’s a story about Nunymunnini, an ancient Mammoth god of some of the first Americans ever. Belief again is so strong that if people forget about the Gods, no matter how powerful they are, they will cease to be. Once again there can be no coincidence that the new Gods are very media and technology based whilst the old Gods are linear as well as primitive. The fate of Nunymunnini is worse than death, she may as well have never existed in the minds of her followers.

    New director, the highly underrated Vincenzo Natali brings some new life to the show, particularly the opening that is fully animated, not unlike a child’s story, but so much more. Natali is no stranger to myths and monsters he has created two of his own in his cinematic outings, “Cube” (1997) and “Splice” (2009), he is not afraid to embrace the strange as well as the mythic so I find his direction extremely welcome, I just wish he would direct more of these episodes.

    I find myself thinking of the revolutions that the music industry went through and now the film industry has to embrace, with the new internet Gods, but like Mr. Wednesday they are fighting it – they need to believe in the new and forget the old.

    This episode quickly ends the sequence of Shadow and his newly revived wife to shift to a police interrogation about the bank robbery from Episode Four. Here we see Mr. Wednesday confessing exactly what he’s been up to in the previous few episodes as well as a hint as to what is to come.

    We also get to see, once again, New Gods, Media (Gillian Anderson), Technical Boy (Bruce Langley) and the newly introduced Mr. World (Crispin Glover) as they meet to discuss their own issues about the old Gods.

    The new Gods, sorry I mean the internet were all enamoured with Anderson’s Bowie as well as a Marilyn Monroe who can seemingly power herself up whenever she wants. Not only that we see Mad Sweeny and the newly incarnated Mrs Moon go at it over a coin, I will not spoil what happens but it is very cool, just like the show. Its great to see Crispin Glover who steals the entire episode as a God among Gods who forces Technical Boy to apologise for ‘lynching’ Shadow, the an offer Mr. Wednesday can’t refuse or can he.

    Episode five is now available on Amazon Streaming.

    American Gods Season 1 2017
  • DVD/Blu-ray review: “Hollow Crown Series 2: The War of the Roses” (2016)

    DVD/Blu-ray review: “Hollow Crown Series 2: The War of the Roses” (2016)

    “The Hollow Crown” (2012)

    Historical Drama

    5stars_small

    Three years after the BBC filmed the four Elizabethan docudramas known as “The Henriad” – “Richard II,” “Henry IV” (parts 1 and 2) and “Henry V” – as “The Hollow Crown,” it picks up the history with “The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses”. It recounts the history of the houses of Lancaster and York as they vie for control of England across much of the 15th century.

    Henry VI, Part 1
    (111 minutes)

    Adapted by Ben Power; Directed by Dominic Cooke

    WITH: Sophie Okonedo (Queen Margaret), Hugh Bonneville (Gloucester), Sally Hawkins (Duchess of Gloucester), Tom Sturridge (Henry VI), Adrian Dunbar (Richard of York), Stuart McQuarrie (Vernon), Lucy Robinson (Young Cecily), Samuel West (Bishop of Winchester), Stanley Townsend (Warwick), Michael Gambon (Mortimer), Anton Lesser (Exeter), Ben Miles (Somerset), Jason Watkins (Suffolk), Philip Glenister (Talbot), David Troughton (Duke of Anjou) and Laura Frances-Morgan (Joan of Arc)

    Henry VI, Parts II & III
    (123 minutes)

    Adapted by Ben Power; Directed by Dominic Cooke

    WITH: Benedict Cumberbatch (Richard Plantagenet), Sophie Okonedo (Queen Margaret), Keeley Hawes (Queen Elizabeth), Tom Sturridge (Henry VI), Angus Imrie (Edmund Plantagenet), Adrian Dunbar (Plantagenet), Geoffrey Streatfeild (Edward IV), Sam Troughton (Clarence), Stuart McQuarrie (Vernon), Kyle Soller (Clifford), Richard Lynch (Westmorland), Lucy Robinson (Young Cecily), Stanley Townsend (Warwick), Anton Lesser (Exeter), Ben Daniels (Buckingham), Ben Miles (Somerset), Jason Watkins (Suffolk), Phoebe Fox (Lady Anne), James Fleet (Hastings), Andrew Scott (King Louis)

    Richard III
    (130 minutes)

    Adapted by Ben Power; Directed by Dominic Cooke

    WITH: Judi Dench (Cecily, Duchess of York), Benedict Cumberbatch (Richard III), Sophie Okonedo (Queen Margaret), Keeley Hawes (Queen Elizabeth), Geoffrey Streatfeild (Edward IV), Sam Troughton (Clarence), Ben Daniels (Buckingham), James Fleet (Hastings), Phoebe Fox (Queen Anne), Luke Treadaway (Henry VII)

    This is the second and last season of the “Hollow Crown”, with it brings some mixed blessings. The one thing I was looking forward to was the portrayal of the mercurial,  often played with a wink, Richard III, portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch. I used the word play as this is one of those Shakespearean characters that is based on a real person but possibly was written as what we would recognize as an ‘arch’ or archetypal villain – a shame as he was always going to be a villain to Shakespeare as instructed by Queen Elizabeth. As Richard III, Cumberbatch, like many of his best roles can be quiet, as well as loud, so here he is at his finest when we see him go from the battles to intimate conversations – this is a great role from an actor whose reputation only seems to grow as the years roll on.

    One of the biggest and most obvious changes from series one to two, was to let one director, Dominic Cooke, let loose on the entire season which lends itself to keeping the tone and look the same throughout, which is not to say that this is a negative but it does mean the flourishes from story to story seen in series one are gone. Cooke who has no real credited television experience is a National Theatre director of some note, which of course means he is no stranger to directing Shakespeare, but his inexperience can be seen throughout this run.

    The story of a dictator coming to power seems extremely relevant, maybe more so today than when these plays were conceived and written. It seems that when these television series were conceived to be remade for this new millennium the producers had an inkling of what was to come to pass in late 2016. When we are faced with what we prefaced with in the post-Trump, post-Truth era – has there ever been a monarch who shaped themselves as well as their enemies through a writer like Shakespeare – was he the Fox News of his time? Probably not, as well as being a little harsh from me, that really does more credit to the way Trump came to power than he deserves. But as the next eight years unfold we are going to see narratives form around Trump, his allies as well as the Republican Party that are going to shape politics for the foreseeable future.

    Of course where would a Shakespeare play or plays be without the actors, we have Tom Sturridge as King Henry VI, Sophie Okonedo as Queen Margaret, Hugh Bonneville as Gloucester and rounding out the cast are the always magnificent Michael Gambon and Judi Dench. There is no doubt that the casting is excellent, but the most exciting actor to watch, for me, is the electrifying Sophie Okonedo who brings such authenticity to her performances in everything she appears in, this is no truer than her portrayal of Queen Margaret – as well as Cumberbatch as Richard III, it is Okonedo who the audience is unable to take their eyes off.

    If you are looking for absolutely great television that is epic in scope in this age of “Game of Thrones”, then this and the first series of the “Hollow Crown” are for you, this is the very origins of epic storytelling as well as the chase for power where people will do anything for it and in this age of Trump, Brexit and the upcoming elections in the UK you could worse than looking to Shakespeare for lessons on morality and the hunger for power at any cost.

    Out now on DVD & Blu-ray.

  • Film review: “Wonder Woman” (2017)

    Film review: “Wonder Woman” (2017)

    “Wonder Woman” (2017)

    Thriller/Action

    3-stars

    Running Time: 141 minutes

    Written by: Allan Heinberg

    Directed by: Patty Jenkins,

    Featuring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen and Elena Anaya

    Diana Prince: “The gods made the Amazons to restore peace to the world, and it’s what I’m going to do.”

    Possibly one of the most anticipated super hero movies in recent history has arrived in the form of the Patty Jenkins directed, Gal Gadot starring “Wonder Woman” (2017), about an Amazonian warrior who after years of training as well as shunning the world of ‘man’ is drawn into World War I by her sometime beau Steve Trevor. If you have been following Wonder Woman’s journey to the big screen you will know that she first appeared in the terrible Zack Snyder directed “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016) where she stole the show with her kick ass attitude as well as the fact she didn’t defer or wait for the boys – she got on with showing off almost all of her tools, the shield, the sword, the lasso, those bracelet’s and of course her battle hardiness. Now as every good super hero as well as possible new franchise needs is an origin story, not just any story but a great one – something Warner Bros./DC has finally learnt from Marvel. As with any good origin story this one is built around a solid character, with some moral unrest as well as a few friends to help out where needed. What also helps is a director that can handle a huge budget as well as the expectations from the studio and audience alike. What we get is a very mixed bag with a film that starts strong then plot contrivances combined a with a very weak as well as confusing third act lets this film down but is still a great ride.

    Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that’s raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny.

    For me the first question that had to be answered was all to do with the director, that is, the hiring of a relative newcomer to direct what is potentially the blockbuster of the year as well the re-launching after a much publicized failure (thanks Zack Snyder) in 2016. I am happy to say that Patty Jenkins has done an outstanding job given all the inherent limitations as well as having a huge studio hovering in the background. It has been pretty obvious in the press as well as the marketing that Jenkins and star Gal Gadot have been on the same page right from the jump. Seeing a hero that is based in Greek mythology brought to life in three dimensions as well as it being done so competently is a real gift for audiences, one I hope they embrace with open arms. This film was always going to be directed by a woman, Warner Bros. had to beat Marvel at something and if they are unable to do so with the product or success, they at least could be first at something – having the first female led superhero movie as well as having a woman direct what is probably one of the largest budgeted superhero movie’s is a start. I think it is unfortunate that we do live in an age where this is seen as a step forward but women have been systemically cut out of this process.

    The next step to get right was the casting and when Gal Gadot was cast as Wonder Woman for her debut many people had no clue who she was. However with a super strong marketing campaign as well as a few “Fast and Furious” films under her belt the public quickly became aware who was playing the Amazonian Princess – in fact this is a role if handled correctly could be the answer for Warner Bros. to have a face for the DC Universe that is 100% unique as well as being one of the three pillars of the DC Universe – giving those tired old warhorses Batman and Superman a well deserved break – is it me or are those two so last century. Gadot has embraced this character so well that she shines onscreen and even though the story may seem a little rehearsed, overblown and at times just like any other superhero origin, particularly a DC one – how can they still not get their endings right? Have you seen “Guardian’s of the Galaxy: Volume 2” (2017)? She seems above it all and able to handle anything.

    The other two standouts for me are Chris Pine (Steve Trevor) and Lucy Davis (Etta Candy) – I was not sure how I would feel about seeing these two characters brought to life but like all great actors Pine and Davis are fully invested. I was invigorated to see Chris Pine take this role, as was it a sidekick role that has the job of showing Diana the ropes, so to speak. But Pine with his own franchise and after his own turn in last years excellent “Hell or High Water” (2016) it is obvious that this role required something special and real, so Pine is your man. After years of playing characters such as Dawn in the original “The Office” (2001 – 2003), Dianne in “Shaun of the Dead” (2004) and Emily in “Maron” (2015 – 2016) it is deserving she play Wonder Woman’s number 2 in the amazing Etta Candy – straight from the comics, she plays her wonderfully and threatens to steal the movie.

    It was with some relief when I found the story shifting from Paradise Island to the ‘modern’ world that this was going to be set during World War I. The relief came from the fact that we were not going to be subjected to World War II and all the tropes that go along with it. In my mind it always seems to be a lazy way to move the plot as well as establishing a narrative as almost any fantasy or comic book film will use the Nazis as the ‘bad guys’ thereby negating the need to build three dimensional antagonists. With “Wonder Woman” however there was a need to establish a villain, the standout being Elena Anaya as Dr. Poison who I found to be extremely compelling and original, for a comic book villain that is. Unfortuabltey the same cannot be said of Danny Hustons whose idea of seeming evil is ywllng, a lot, as well as having no clue about what his motivations are, expet he is bad and just has to kill everyone else – really? That’s a villain in 2017, all he was missing was a moustache to twirl. However and no spoilers give it was about to get worse.

    Once again we see with these high priced and still overblown superhero movies a massive reliance on CGI, which of course is the case with “Wonder Woman”, the difference with the better films is that this use of special effects is combined with great characters as well as interesting action moments that serve as one scene or moment. It could be with Jenkins background in independent movies, she directed Charlize Theron to a best actress Oscar for her only previous movie the serial killer biography “Monster” (2003), that she is able to take character first building around that to give a complete moment. Of course there are still third act issues with the big showdown that we have come to expect, but it is saved by the Gadot doing what she does best in with the character that is to stand up and not look back.

    Unfortunately it has to be said the entire movie is ultimately let down by the ending as well as a final battle which I thought had ended with something akin to previous Marvel film. I also thought it was going to be a smarter ending which was hinted at in regard to the war, our place as humans in conflict and the fact that there is no easy answer. Boy was I ever wrong, it the film took a left turn, and suddenly I felt I was back at the end of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” – what a nightmare, please get me out. It was such a shame to see a film let me down this much.

    I will not go into any real plot details as this movie is better left as a surprise even though the trailers have given away a few of the key points which is par for the course these days but this is a movie definitely worth seeing on the big screen and for my mind without a second watch is still in the top 15 comic book films produced to date. It is a true relasation of a property (again with a painful third act) that has gone through some turmoil over the past ten years with issues from medium, to directors, to writers to who would play the main part. But “Wonder Woman” is a fantastic watch for all ages and both genders, you should go and see. We should be thankful to have a Wonder Woman finally come to life.

    “Wonder Woman” is out now only in cinemas.

  • DVD/Blu-ray review: “The Kettering Incident” (2016)

    DVD/Blu-ray review: “The Kettering Incident” (2016)

    “The Kettering Incident” (2016)

    Thriller/Drama

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    8 Episodes

    Produced by:  Vincent Sheehan and Andrew Walker

    Directed by: Rowan Woods and Tony Krawitz

    Featuring: Elizabeth Debicki, Matthew Le Nevez, Henry Nixon, Anthony Phelan, Damon Gameau, Damien Garvey, Sacha Horler, Brad Kannegiesser, Sianoa Smit-McPhee

    The last few years has seen an upsurge in not only Australian television but also the sheer volume of Australian actors heading to the US and appearing in not only independent movies but blockbusters as well. Enter the 2016 production of the Tasmanian based show “The Kettering Incident” (2016), featuring Elizabeth Debicki, fresh of star turns in a bunch of movies, including “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017), “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (2015), “Everest” (2015) as well as the upcoming “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” (2017) – Debicki certainly is having a pretty good run. “The Kettering Incident” is a true original show, one that could only take place in Tasmania, an island that is almost isolated, best known for a Yahoo Serious film, David Boon and Ricky Ponting – as well as being the site of one the worst mass shootings in Australia’s history. It’s a wonder it’s taken so long to set a show like this there. The sheer low of the place can have a sense of forboding.

    The series (at least this first season) is based around Dr. Anna Macy (Elizabeth Debicki) who left Kettering when she was just fourteen, shortly after her best friend (and half-sister), Gillian Baxter, mysteriously disappeared. The two girls had been cycling through the forbidden forests outside Kettering when they saw strange lights in the sky. Eight hours later, Anna was found alone, terrified and covered in blood.

    Fifteen years later, Anna returns to find the town struggling to survive. The forests have been marked for logging and the town is on edge following violent clashes between environmentalists and the local loggers. Anna’s reappearance causes a stir when another girl, Chloe Holloway (Sianoa Smit-McPhee) suddenly disappears, prompting Anna to discover what really happened the night Gillian disappeared, and in doing so, uncovering secrets that threaten the future of Kettering.

    One of the main characters in this miniseries is the landscape of Tasmania itself, I lead with that because after just a few episodes of the craggy coastlines, the cold deep blue water, the sometimes inhospitable looking living conditions, a forest that seems to hide a deeper mystery as well as wildlife that seems to come from another world. It was a stroke of genius to locate the plot of this slow burning show on an isolated as well as isolating piece of Australia. There may have been some inspiration from reality for the plot, but it is still an inspired choice of the production to actually film on location with all the pitfalls this can incur – this is not a forgiving environment.

    The atmosphere that has been generated by both director and cinematographer gives a true sense of dread throughout the eight episodes, not only with the general outlook of the show but also the difference in the London locations moving through to the Tasmanian area. Within Tasmania we have several locations that are all very different, the forest area, the suburban sprawl that has taken root, the ocean with all that encompasses as well the interesting outlooks from the roads that the characters travel.

    The characters are all very interesting as well as being extremely complex, with the cast being led by Elizabeth Debicki as Anna Macy, a struggling drug addicted medical professional who has been running her entire life. She has blackouts, which is not a spoiler as it is literally in the first few scenes. The device is incredible and reminded me of David Flincher’s “Fight Club” (1999) which had a similar device but it is more jarringly used here. The rest of the cast is made up of Australian characters actors that have been seen on countless dramas, some have even made the shift to the US for more lucrative offers, however they all make their mark here in what is a quintessential thriller with surprises and revelations in every excellent episode.

    This is a thriller with a very slow burning plot that delivers revelations as well as plot points each episode as you would expect from the post modern thrillers that have become the norm, as the effect of the Scandi-noirs as well as English dramas have dictaatted to modern story-telling. This is a refreshing take with conspiracy around every corner.

    This miniseries comes alive at home so a purchase on DVD or Blu-ray would be a good choice as well as a welcome addition to any home library.

    “The Kettering Incident” is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.

  • Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Four: “Git Gone”

    Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Four: “Git Gone”

    “American Gods” (2017)

    Fantasy/Horror

    5stars_small

    8 Episodes

    Produced by: Bryan Fuller and Michael Green

    Featuring: Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, Pablo Schreiber and Ian McShane

    The series focuses on Shadow Moon, a man serving three years in prison. With only days remaining in his sentence, Shadow is given an unexpected early release after his beloved wife Laura is killed. Shadow finds himself next to a man named Wednesday, who offers Shadow a job. Wednesday appears to be nothing but a con artist who needs Shadow as a bodyguard, but is in fact the god Odin. Wednesday is making his way across America, gathering all the old gods, who have now incorporated themselves into American life, to confront the New Gods, including Media and Technology, who grow stronger.

    Episode Four: “Git Gone”

    Cinematographer: Darran Tiernan

    Directed by: Craig Zobel

    This episode is the first one not directed by David Slade and so we have a new director in Craig Zobel as well as a new cinematographer in Darran Tiernan. As fate would have it this is also the episode that is the most different from the previous ones in the series – we do not have a coda as to an Old God and their orgin in arriving in America, and whilst I enjoy these and think they add a lot to the show, in this particular instance it makes sense to not include one.

    As the previous episode ended we had Shadow arriving back to his hotel room and confronted by Laura, his now deceased wife with the greeting we have come to expect from her, “Hello Pappy”. Needless to say Shadow looked shocked in the extreme, the ‘WTF’ look was priceless.

    This story of this episode was not part of the overall narrative and plot from was not included in the book, but I find it welcome here, not only to give depth to the character of Laura, but also to provide us with some kind of perspective as to why she was sleeping with Shadow’s best friend as well as being killed with his member in her mouth – yes literally.

    What we see within this episode is something akin to what we have seen from Shadow’s point of view,  that is belief. In this case it is Shadows belief in his marriage, and what he will do to keep it. On the other hand what we see from Laura is the absolute belief in nothing at all, it turns out Laura is a nihilist which in a television show called “American Gods” is not a wise thing to be. In fact when we see her die she is faced with someone we have already met, Anubis – I am not going to spoil what happens but from that point on the show reveals much about what has gone on before, but has remained a mystery to Shadow and us the viewer.

    The look of this episode is very different from the previous three episodes which fits perfectly well with the new team behind the camera, in fact Shadow look the most different and it is fitting with this new look that he sports from Laura’s point of view that both of them made the correct choice in getting married. One wonders if there is more to Laura than meets the eye. Both Zobel and Tiernan are not experienced film makers but do have much experience in television and I think in this case it helps them to give us a look into a world that is small and personal, not the giant landscape we have seen in the first part of the show – it is actually quite a breath of fresh air.

    As we know by now that this televion show has been playing its plot close to its vest so this one is exposition heavy but withut being preachy, in fact when Laura seems bored of her marriage she gives a longing look to her hot tub – I will not say why – but also when she dies there is a vision of that same hot tub with her branded fly spray ‘Git Gone’ – it is very telling.

    Once again I recommend this highly and you should start watching if you are not already.

    Episode two is now available on Amazon Streaming.