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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: “T2 Trainspotting 2” (2017)

    DVD/Blu-ray review: “T2 Trainspotting 2” (2017)

    “T2 Trainspotting” (2017)

    Drama/Comedy/Thriller

    3-stars

    Running Time: 117 minutes

    Written by: John Hodge

    Directed by: Danny Boyle

    Featuring: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, and Kelly Macdonald

    Renton: I gave you 4000 pounds. 

    Spud: Well, what did you think I would do with them? I’M A FUCKING JUNKIE! 

    Renton: Yes… Yes, I suppose you was. 

    Spud: I still am.

    Can you ever truly go home again? This is something that literally haunts this new Danny Boyle movie, “T2 Trainspotting” (2017), the sequel to the now twenty-year old “Trainspotting” (1997). The question that will be on everyone’s minds is – Is this film any good? Does it live up to the original? Both great questions, the answers are not easy to come by. To be honest I was not sure what the motivation was to making a sequel in the first place, as saying that the original film is a classic is an understatement. Not only did “Trainspotting” launch Boyles career it also launched Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and Kelly Macdonald careers, none of them have been out of the spotlight since, in fact all have extremely strong television and film careers. It also solidified Robert Carlyle as one of the strongest character actors in the world today, he has featured in almost every genre and even played a Bond Villain – surely the highest praise of any UK born actor in the world today. The director, Danny Boyle is the one who went on to helm many international movies, solidifying his reputation with his Oscar win for best director for “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008). Coincidentially that film launched the international careers of Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Ifffan Khan and Freida Pinto – it seems Boyle has the talent all great directors have – talent spotting. So after twenty years what does it all mean?

    It has been 20 years since Mark “Rent boy” Renton stole from his friends half of the £16,000 they’d made in a drug deal and fled the country. He has apparently made a decent – but unfulfilling – life for himself in Amsterdam, and returns to Edinburgh to make contact with those in his former life. Daniel “Spud” Murphy continues to struggle with his heroin addiction, which has caused him to lose his construction job and estranged him from Gail Houston and their son Fergus. Simon “Sick Boy” Williamson, now a cocaine addict, runs the Port Sunshine pub he inherited from his aunt, and with his Bulgarian girlfriend Veronika attempts to blackmail men by luring them into sex videos. Francis “Franco” Begbie is serving a 25-year prison sentence and is denied parole due to his violent temper.

    Mark stops by his childhood home, where his father tells him of his mother’s death while he was away. He visits Spud at his flat, narrowly preventing him from committing suicide. Spud initially resents the intervention, but Mark offers to help him out of his addiction. Mark visits Simon at the pub intending to apologize and pay back Simon’s share of the money he stole.

    One of the most important aspects of the original movie was the soundtrack, and while I would like to say that the sequel’s soundtrack is as good it is not. However there are some bright points, the one thing that is great is the constant underscore of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippery’ which of course harkens back to the original but in my mind it is extremely indulgent as well as nostalgic – if this film should be about something it should not be nostalgia which is a crutch for the weak. Now, its not to say that the soundtrack is bad its just a bit dated as well as being some popular songs that everyone will know and not feel alienated – so audiences that were fifteen or twenty in 1997 now feel they are watching themselves age with music that wont be offensive. I mean Queen is on the soundtrack – WTF – this is something that wouldn’t have been caught dead in the original.

    T2 Trainspotting Original Soundtrack Tracklist 

    01. “Lust for Life (The Prodigy Remix)” by Iggy Pop
    02. “Shotgun Mouthwash” by High Contrast
    03. “Silk” by Wolf Alice
    04. “Get Up” by Young Fathers
    05. “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
    06. “Eventually But” by Underworld/Ewen Bremner
    07. “Only God Knows” by Young Fathers
    08. “Dad’s Best Friend” by The Rubberbandits
    09. “Dreaming” by Blondie
    10. “Radio Ga Ga” by Queen
    11. “It’s Like That” by Run D.M.C. vs. Jason Nevis
    12. “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais” by The Clash
    13. “Rain or Shine” by Young Fathers
    14. “Whitest Boy on the Beach” by Fat White Family
    15. “Slow Slippy” by Underworld

    The movie is full of nostalgia, which when dealing with a film like this is not a good thing – when Renton turns back up to see his ‘mates’ there is enough blame from the previous film to go around. It is a handy coincidence that Sickboy is still a madman drug taking con man, Spud is trying to recover from smack and Begbie turns up as an escapee – trying to recapture his youth. This storyline is something that has been the subject of television shows for years – middle age wankers trying to recapture a youth that was never theirs in the first place. Like a greatest hits compilation from your favorite alternative band (now broken and broken up) this movie revisits all the memorable parts of the first film but this time with middle age spread and a healthy dose of guilt, loss and of course nostalgia.

    The sequel would not have been possible without Danny Boyle and Ewen McGregor burying the hatchet after they had a falling out over the casting of “The Beach” (2000), where Boyle went with Leonardo DiCaprio.Instead of McGregor – it was one of DiCaprio’s first post “Titanic” (1997) role so he was hot.

    The movie sees the return of all of the cast, even Kevin McKidd in flashback as well as seeing a memorial to him and the hugely in demand Kelly McDonald in a cameo as a lawyer so now we know she turned out alright. Then there is the scene stealing (just like the first film) Ewen Bremner as Spud, the still smack addicted mostly comic relief and cautionary tale who it turns out is an author in the making – of course he is, because like all of these characters they have learnt something and discovered their inner truth – please, how convenient. Then there are Robert Carlyle and Johnny Lee Miller who appear to have stayed true to their past, but of course even the evil Begbie who has a grown son as well as the estranged wife sees his life has moved on without him. Oh by the way even Begbie has a ‘moment’ with his son and wife where he acknowledges his son as a better person than him – really? Begbie – come on – its nice to know that exactly twenty years later he is a better man – yeah right. Johnny Lee Miller was always too cool and way to good looking for the original, but here he hasn’t aged a day and looks better than ever, even though he is supposed to be a coke head – welcome back to the 80s Sick Boy.

    There is a convoluted plot involving a night club and some other bits that don’t really hold together and are not really that interesting, with a climax involving Spud being a master signature faker which has been conveniently retconned into his past which is neither here nor there. The film does come alive when it parodies the original and when the characters interact on a level that we will all recognize, but when the credits role you may be, like me, thinking that this was surely a missed opportunity for something bigger, better and be more authentic.

    If you can get past the constant call backs, visually, sonically or even just inserts from the original film then this might be the film for you. For me it was just to nostalgia to the point that it became over the top, none of the characters have moved forward and to add insult to injury they were given some pat Hollywood ending, it was sad after twenty years to be served up this mess of a movie. The only thing I can think of is that the luckiest person in terms of this film is Kevin McKidd who got out of this sequel by dying in the first film.

    “T2 Trainspotting 2” is out on DVD & Blu-ray on the 7th June 2017.

  • DVD/Blu-ray review: “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage” (1980)

    DVD/Blu-ray review: “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage” (1980)

    “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage” (1980)

    Documentary/Mini-series

    5stars_small

    Thirteen Episodes

    Written by:   Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter

    Produced by:  David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles, and Gregory Andorfer

    Featuring: Carl Sagan

    Carl Sagan: “There are some hundred billion galaxies, each with, on the average, a hundred billion stars, 1011 x 1011 = 1022, ten billion trillion. In the face of such overpowering numbers, what is the likelihood that only one ordinary star, the Sun, is accompanied by an inhabited planet? Why should we, tucked away in some forgotten corner of the Cosmos, be so fortunate? To me, it seems far more likely that the universe is brimming over with life. But we humans do not yet know. We are just beginning our explorations. From eight billion light-years away we are hard pressed to find even the cluster in which our Milky Way Galaxy is embedded, much less the Sun or the Earth. The only planet we are sure is inhabited is a tiny speck of rock and metal, shining feebly by reflected sunlight, and at this distance utterly lost.”

    If you have never heard of Carl Sagan or this television series which was ground breaking for its time you are in for a treat. Sagan’s legacy has been etched in stone since his untimely death from cancer in 1996, he was not only a scientist, but an author of both fiction and non-fiction – both equally successful, his writings influenced thousands of people – the last project he was involved in was the Robert Zemeckis directed “Contact” (1997) starring Oscar winners Jodie Foster and Mathew McConaughey. Now comes the magnum opus that is his television legacy “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage”, a treat to anyone that loves Sagan, his work and the natural world set in the past with an eye on the future, it also spawned the sequel “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” (2014) by super fans Seth MacFarlane, Brannon Braga, Ann Druyan and of course Neil deGrasse Tyson. 

    If you have never seen this television show you have missed a treat, sure there are some downsides to it, the two most obvious are that, one, the special effects look extremely crude, but were of course cutting edge for the day, and secondly some of the information has become a little dated but the spirit of the the television show is apparent, there is no way you can discount Sagan’s talent and passion. I believe this a must buy and watch with your family to see how far we have come in the past thirty years and how far we still have to go. You should also try and find “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” (2014) as an updated companion piece.

    Astronomer Dr. Carl Sagan is host and narrator of this 13-hour series that originally aired on Public Broadcasting Stations in the United States. Dr. Sagan describes the universe in a way that appeals to a mass audience, by using Earth as a reference point, by speaking in terms intelligible to non-scientific people, by relating the exploration of space to that of the Earth by pioneers of old, and by citing such Earth legends as the Library of Alexandria as metaphors for space-related future events. Among Dr. Sagan’s favorite topics are the origins of life, the search for life on Mars, the infernal composition of the atmosphere of Venus and a warning about a similar effect taking place on Earth due to global pollution and the “greenhouse effect”, the lives of stars, interstellar travel and the effects of attaining the speed of light, the danger of mankind technologically self-destructing, and the search, using radio technology, for intelligent life in deep space.

    Episode Guide:

    1. “The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean”: The first episode has talking about a description of the cosmos and a “Spaceship of the Imagination” (shaped like a dandelion seed). The ship journeys through the universe’s hundred billion galaxies, the Local Group, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way, the Orion Nebula, our Solar System, and finally the planet Earth.
    2. “One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue”: The second episode is all about something other commentators related to Sagan such as Neil deGrasse Tyson and Richard Dawkins love to address, that being evolution through natural selection (and the pitfalls of intelligent design). Among the topics are the development of life on the Cosmic Calendar and the Cambrian explosion; the function of DNA in growth; genetic replication, repairs, and mutation; the common biochemistry of terrestrial organisms; the creation of the molecules of life and speculation on alien life.
    3. “Harmony of the Worlds”: The third episode delineates between astrology and astronomy, we see the development of astronomical observation, starting with constellations and ceremonial calendars, it then shifts to the debate between Earth and Sun-centered models.
    4. “Heaven and Hell”: The fourth episode looks at comets and asteroids as planetary impactors, giving recent examples of the Tunguska event and a lunar impact. It moves to a description of the environment of Venus, which is highly entertaining.
    5. “Blues for a Red Planet”: The fifth episode is, as luck would have it in terms of today’s world,  all about Mars. The episode ends with the possibility of the terraforming and colonization of Mars.
    6. “Travellers’ Tales”: The sixth episode is all about the journeys of the Voyager probes – this does seem to be a little on the old fashioned side now, but is extremely informative nevertheless.
    7. “The Backbone of Night”: In the seventh episode something truly unique happens and I cannot see it happening again in a similar show, Carl Sagan teaches students in a classroom in his childhood home in Brooklyn, New York, which leads into a history of the different mythologies about stars and the gradual revelation of their true nature.
    8. “Journeys in Space and Time”: The eighth episode revolves around ideas about time and space in the changes that constellations undergo over time, time dilation in Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, time travel and its hypothetical effects, the origins of the Solar System, the history of life, and the immensity of space.
    9. “The Lives of the Stars”: The ninth episode all about the atoms and subatomic particles (electrons, protons, and neutrons) necessary to form the entire universe.
    10. “The Edge of Forever”: The tenth episode begins with the origins of the universe in the Big Bang, Sagan describes the formation of different types of galaxies and anomalies such as galactic collisionsand quasars. The episode moves further into ideas about the structure of the Universe, such as different dimensions, an infinite vs. a finite universe, and the idea of an oscillating Universe.
    11. “The Persistence of Memory”: The eleventh episode looks at the idea of intelligence in the concepts of computers (this is now extremely dated), whales (in their songs and their disruptions by human activities), DNA, the human brain, and man-made structures for collective intelligence (cities, libraries, books, computers, and satellites).
    12. “Encyclopaedia Galactica”: In the twelfth episode questions are raised about the search for intelligent life beyond the Earth, with UFOs and other close encounters refuted in favor of communications through SETIand radio telescope such as the Arecibo Observatory.
    13. “Who Speaks for Earth?”: In the last episode Sagan reflects on the future of humanity and the question of “who speaks for Earth?” when meeting extraterrestrials. .

    “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage” is available now on DVD & Blu-ray.

  • Film review: “Table 19” (2017)

    Film review: “Table 19” (2017)

    “Table 19” (2017)

    Drama

    3-stars

    Running Time: 87 minutes

    Written by:  Jeffrey Blitz and  Jay Duplass, & Mark Duplass

    Directed by:  Jeffrey Blitz

    Featuring:  Anna Kendrick, Craig Robinson, June Squibb, Lisa Kudrow, Stephen Merchant, Wyatt Russelland Tony Revolori

    Eloise McGarry: “Do you know what Francie’s mother called table 19? “The table that should have known to send regrets, but not before sending something nice off the registry.”

    Bina Kepp: “What?”

    Eloise McGarry: “The table that could disappear in the middle of the wedding and no one would even notice.”

    Jo Flanagan: “A table of people they don’t care about!”

    Movies that have their plots based around weddings can be highly convoluted, they mostly involve the main parties of the occasion, the bride, groom, bridesmaid or best man. There is normally some kind of story revolving around someone finding their true love, which is not who they start the story with, or there is a meet cute, and shenanigans occur from there. With Anna Kendrick’s new movie“Table 19” (2017) the occasion is indeed a wedding, however this story revolves around all the guests that have been invited that are not family or real friends but people who are in the periphery of the bride and grooms lives – in fact you probably hope they will decline their invitations. In designing a film like this as well as keeping it interesting the actors chosen for the film had better be able to carry the entire plot forward – which they do even in the most bizarre situations. Make no mistake about it this is a comedy tinged with drama that has some of life’s mistakes and omissions laid out in from of us as well of the main characters.

    The movies central character is Eloise (Anna Kendrick) who after starting out as the bridesmaid to her best friend Francie’s wedding, she is swiftly ‘demoted’ two months before the wedding when her boyfriend Teddy (Wyatt Russell), the bride’s brother and the best man, dumps her. After switching back and forth on whether or not to attend, Eloise RSVPs, only to find herself seated at Table 19, a table intended for guests who were only reluctantly invited and whom the hosts hoped would not attend. The other denizens of Table 19 are Jerry and Bina Kepp Craig Robinson and Lisa Kudrow), who own a diner and are Facebook friends with the groom’s father due to his own diner chain, Renzo Eckberg (Tony Revolori), whose parents are acquaintances and came to the wedding in the hopes of meeting a girl, Jo Flanagan (June Squibb), Francie’s childhood nanny, and Walter Thimble (Stephen Merchant), a distant nephew.

    This a very interesting movie, it has been sold as a comedy but does have a serious issue at its core which is handled extremely well and should appeal to all who watch it, whether they agree or disagree with the outcome it is a very good piece of entertainment. This is a comedy that sits right in the middle of the road in the pantheon of comedies of today – it goes out of its way to not offend anybody, while highlighting some very real moments in some of the characters lives – it should be commended for this. It would have been nice for the smooth edges of the movie to be roughed up a little with some real stakes to be felt by the audience – but that was not the decision that was made behind the camera.

    The movie is directed by Jeffrey Blitz who came to fame when his first film, the excellent documentary “Spellbound” (2002), was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary, it lost to Michael Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine” (2002). Blitz has since not made another documentary and instead has concentrated on comedies, with the highlight probably being his stint directing eleven episodes of the US version of “The Office” (2005–2013). The director has teamed up with the Duplass Brothers who are a force unto themselves, both of them are not only writers but are also actors, directors and producers of some note. Mark and Jay Duplass have appeared in or created some of the best films and television series since their mumble core debut, “The Puffy Chair” (2005). Both Blitz and the Duplass brothers have brought a lot of heart to this movie, while staying within some of the confines of a Wedding film, while subverting others – there is a hilarious subplot where Eloise meets a man who she immediately hits it off with and as the audience you may be thinking she has found a new man, the payoff is very cruel but funny.

    “Table 19” has an excellent comic cast, particularly at the eponymous table, for me it is the always uncomfortable Stephen Merchant who steals the movie from everyone including Anna Kendrick – something that is extremely difficult to do as Kendrick has a habit of stealing movies from her co-stars such as in “The Accountant” (2016) and “Up in the air” (2009). Merchant is so funny as a businessman, or so he says, he gives a great comedic performance and shows how someone like him can have an impact on a film like this when he is not the star, this is something many English comedians do in American movies, it is their bread and butter, and here he excels. The rest of the cast is excellent and former Oscar Nominee Anna Kendrick shines as a down on her luck character, so to does Lisa Kudrow and the always reliable Craig Robinson who brings his ‘A’ game to role that really he is far to good for – in fact the same can be said for most of these actors who could all (and have at some point) headline their own movies. The cast is rounded out with former Oscar Nominee June Squib who plays the brides former nanny who has been all but forgotten by the children she raised.

    This is, in the end, a very good movie with a lot of heart, as you would expect from a comedy set at a wedding. The only issue is that it does start off a little reserved but after the first half hour it becomes quite a ride with a lot of laughs – I would recommend this film to most but as a light comedy film it works very well.

    TABLE 19
  • Film review: “Before I Fall” (2017)

    Film review: “Before I Fall” (2017)

    “Before I Fall” (2017)

    Drama

    3-stars

    Running Time: 99 minutes

    Written by: Maria Maggenti,

    Directed by: Ry Russo-Young

    Featuring: Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley, Jennifer Beals, Diego Boneta and Elena Kampouris

    Samantha Kingston: “If I was going to live the same day over and over, I wanted it to mean something… and not just to me.”

    This movie is the second movie I have reviewed this month that has been written and directed by women, not only that they were both based on novels written by women – this is one of the most refreshing things about both these films, “Their Finest” (2017) and now this one, “Before I Fall” (2017). The differences being one, “Their Finest”, was a historical lesson of sorts, while “Before I Fall” is a kind of morality play, based on a young adult novel by Lauren Oliver. Starting to watch the film you may see this as a “Mean Girls” (2004) rip off with a touch of “Groundhog Day” (1993) thrown in for good measure – just to make a difference. Now I am the first to admit I am probably not the target market for this movie, but the longer I stuck with it the more I enjoyed it. It does have many story tics you would expect, the main character learns her lesson, starts being ‘nice’ to people and in doing so does save the day for all – this is a lesson movie, and everyone learns theirs.

    The film is primarly concerned with Samantha Kingston (Zoey Deutch) who wakes on Valentine’s Day. She is picked up by her friends, Lindsey (Halston Sage), Ally (Cynthy Wu) and Elody (Medalion Rahimi), who joke with her about losing her virginity to her boyfriend Rob (Kian Lawley) that night. During class, Sam is handed a bunch of roses from her boyfriend with a blasé note. Included in the bunch is a pale colored rose with a note suggesting it is from another boy named Kent (Logan Miller). He later invites her to his party. During lunch the girls make fun of Juliet (Elena Kampouris), an outsider girl that they view as a “psycho”. At the party, Juliet shows up, seemingly uninvited. Lindsay confronts her and the two fight, with Juliet leaving in tears. As they are driving back from the party, the car hits something and crashes.

    Sam wakes in her room on Valentine’s Day again. Thinking the previous day was just a dream, Sam continues on with her day but finds that the same events occur, and they again crash leaving the party.

    So the general thrust of the movie is something that we have seen in many genre television shows and many many movies, that is the time loop where one or more characters have to relive moments over again until they learn some kind of lesson – so when you think about it a mean girls inspired movie was just screaming for this, where the not so mean girl learns her lesson and loves happily ever after. What makes this movie unique, or is unique at all?

    The look of the movie is interesting as it dovetails the natural look of teen films by actually making it look more like a horror film, this is in part thanks to the use of Michael Fimognari as the cinematographer who has surprise surprise worked on a high proportion of genre movies, particularly horror movies. This is something that works really well as can be seen as the plot and narrative move along. It of course gives some sense of dread as the main character Samantha learns about her peril as well the peril of others. There is a use of lighting to highlight moments in the film, like red for danger, blue as a muted tone and black as the main highlighting of a duality within Samantha.

    The lessons that Samantha may have to learn or be made aware of are relatively simplistic as far as lessons go, and of course we are dealing with adolescents means that the plot has to move along extremely quickly. This means that Samantha learns about her predicament and accepts it pretty quickly compared to other similar yarns, which does ring hollow as well as her ‘experimenting’ with time loop, which again feels rushed on her part as well as the story. To me this is a little unfortunate as the aspects of her nature that change can feel unearned – I mean the lessons she is learning would probably be learned once she went to College/University – does she really need a time loop?

    The director, Ry Russo-Young, working with her screenwriter Maria Maggenti, bring to life the cliques as well as the worries that face teenagers not only now but throughout most peoples experiences, so that is nothing new. One of the more disappointing aspects of the film is the reliance (not just for this film but for many teen films) on the fact that the main protagonist as well as her antagonists are all extremely wealthy, or have wealthy parents, which again means that some real socio-political problems don’t even have to be raised – like money issues, paying for college, not having transport or anything else that may be perceived as ‘real issues’. Oh yes, this is also a part of the US that has no racial issues either and they get around that by having no African-American characters – it is that almost mono-culture we live in – very post-Trump.

    Now saying all that bullying is no joke especially at school as can be seen in the news almost every other day, but what this film does is negate everything else and say that if only people were nice to each other everything would just be alright. Unfortunately that world does not exist, humans can be cruel, and teenagers are no exception. Bullying can be a symptom of other social ills, which do not seem to exist in this white town – it’s a shame because a real opportunity was missed. I still think that this a good film, it does work both plot wise as well as using the narrative that has been set up.

    This is actually a very entertaining movie and reminded me of another teen-centric film directed by David S. Goyer, “The Invisible” (2007), about issues at a High School, but while the protagonist was very upper class, the movie’s antagonists had real issues that were worked through the entire movie – this too was based on a novel – but was more ‘real’ than this one. It seems to me that more could have been done to make this film more ‘real’ and take some of the narrative shine of it.

    Given all of my thoughts I would still recommend this movie as a watch just to support the kind of film it wants to be and not the film that it is. The performances are all as polished as you would expect them to be given that this is a studio film. This film works well if there was just one issue, but in life that is very rarely true, so I believe while this gives the main character hope in changing her life and those around her it would have been good to add some realism to it.

    “Before I Fall” is out now in cinemas only.

    Do you need help if you are being bullied?

    Who can help?

    Whanau: If they aren’t sure what to do, show them this link. 

    School: If you and the bullies are school-aged, you should let a teacher, school counsellor and dean know. They are responsible for student wellbeing and safety.

    Workplace: If it’s happening at work, you should let your boss know – and if your boss is the bully, then contact their boss or check out this link.

    Friends: They hang out with you so you’re not alone and stick up for you when the bullies are around.

    Counsellor or youth worker. A counsellor can help with the impact bullying has had. They can teach you skills to stick up for yourself and build your confidence back up again.

    “Before I Fall” is out now in cinemas everywhere.

  • Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Three: “Head Full of Now”

    Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Three: “Head Full of Now”

    “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 Three: “Head Full of Now”

    Cinematographer: Jo Willems

    Directed by: David Slade

    Wednesday: “This is the only country in the world, that worries about what it is.”

    Shadow: “What?”

    Wednesday: “The rest of them know what they are. No one ever needs to go searching for the heart of Norway. Or looks for the soul of Mozambique. They know what they are.”

    In this episode “Head Full Of Now “ we are introduced to Mr Jacquel (Chris Obi), or, as he is known in Egyptian, Anubis, the god of the dead. Anubis visits an elderly woman and informs her that she is, in fact, dead, and he has arrived to escort her soul to another plane.

    As with the previous two episodes we are dealing with the belief of something, anything really, as well as how this belief in this Universe enables these Gods. OF course belief is a powerful thing and so we are also seeing a metaphor for the belief that people have in other people, in money, in charms or anything else that we as humans glom on to to give us hope in what can be a hopeless world. Is believing in an abstract entity like Odin or Anubis any different than believing in Allah or Jesus – for that matter any different in the belief of a sports team or money?

    What is interesting is that we are starting to see Shadow who as we find out believes in nothing at all – which can be a strength or a weakness. Maybe this is why we are seeing Shadow struggle with what it means to be faced by an entity or entitles that could be considered ‘Gods’. Of course it doesn’t help him that he keeps seeing his wife in some kind of real terms – he did believe in something once of course, but that came crashing down around him in the first excellent episode.

    This episode has one of the great early parts of the novel where we see that maybe Mr. Wednesday is not as powerful as we think as we see him summon a snowstorm but then needing money by robbing a bank through an early morning deposit system. This in the book was dome so well and so humorously and it is great to see this in the episode done so well.

    We have had television shows before where the outcome or story were not force-fed to audiences, sometimes they succeed, sometimes they don’t. Bryan Fuller who produced the three seasons of “Hannibal” (2013 – 2015) did something similar with that show and that was summarily cancelled because of viewership figures, but was a huge hit critically. Moving to Amazon is something of a coup as there is no dealing with viewership, yet, not only that but Amazon have made it clear that they will stick with this as they have renewed it for a second season already.

    This is turning into a great show with all its characters as well as the look of the show so do yourself a favour and get Prime and start watching this fantastic show. Oh yes and Mad Sweeney is back – my favorite character and that’s saying something. If you fid his coin give him a call.

    Episode three is now available on Amazon Streaming.

  • Streaming Review: “Mindhorn” (2017)

    Streaming Review: “Mindhorn” (2017)

    “Mindhorn” (2017)

    Comedy/Thriller

    3-stars

    Running Time: 89 minutes

    Written by: Julian Barratt & Simon Farnaby

    Directed by: Sean Foley

    Featuring: Julian Barratt, Essie Davis, Kenneth Branagh, Andrea Riseborough, Steve Coogan, Russell Tovey, Harriet Walter, Jessica Barden, Simon Callow, Simon Farnaby, Nicholas Farrell, David Schofield, Tony Way

    Richard Thorncroft: “The Benedict Cumberbatch Backlash has begun.”

    Currently in the UK there can be no more unique talent than comedian Julian Barrett, he was once a stand up, then joined forces with abstract artist Noel Fielding to create one of the true comedy greats of the new millennium with the surrealist “The Mighty Boosh” (2003 – 2007), a television comedy that made them, as well as the rest of the cast comedy greats. Not only that they were able to create two sepeate live shows as well as a documentary that illustrated their many talents. After a few movies and television shows Barrett has created “Mindhorn” (2017) as co-writer and star – be warned this is a comedy thriller with the thriller aspect being as important as the comedy part – something not all audiences will be impressed by – however I really enjoyed it, and the partnership with Simon Farnaby (co-writer as well as co-star) has paid off in ways that make the whole entirely greater than the sum of its parts.

    The story opens in the 1980s, on the Isle of Man. Actor Richard Thorncroft (Julian Barratt) is preparing to film a scene in the television show Mindhorn. His relationships with his stuntman, Clive (Simon Farnaby), and co-star/lover Patricia Deville (Essie Davis) are established before a brief montage outlines the show’s concept, offers brief interviews with a number of people related with it and concludes showing Richard’s growing arrogance, culminating in an apparently drunken appearance on a television chat show in which he disparages his co-stars, is offensive about the Isle of Man and stumbles off a sofa before blithely declaring, “I’m off to Hollywood” and walking off.

    Twenty-five years later on the Isle of Man, police are hunting for an escaped lunatic, Paul Melly (Russel Tovey) who they believe to be responsible for a young woman’s murder. He speaks to DC Baines (Andrea Riseborough) on the telephone, demands to be called ‘The Kestrel’ and says he will only speak to Detective Mindhorn, and that if he is not able to do so by four o’clock the following day, there will be further deaths. Chief Inspector Derek Newsome (David Schofield) – clearly not a fan of either the character or the actor who played him – begrudgingly he instructs his officers to ‘get Mindhorn’.

    This is such an interesting movie, it follows Barratt’s decisions to make non conformist non comedies if you will, it seems he is attempting to distance himself from the Boosh as much as possible, I have to say that these decisions are inspired from Ben Wheatley’s trippy “A Field in England” (2010) to this comedy/thriller “Mindhorn” (2017). Barratt, here playing the Mindhorn of the title has to appear over two time periods as an actor who is extremely full of himself as well as having a contempt for everybody around him – sounds like any typical actor to me. Of course after the fall he will do absolutely anything to regain the B grade celebrity he once had, while exploiting anything and anyone he can to get what he wants.

    As you would expect from any comedy from the UK the cast is just great with some very good choices, starting with Simon Farnaby (who also co-wrote the film with Barratt) as Thorncroft’s stunt double and love rival, who is just hilarious with his own failings and hidden secrets who now married to Patricia (Essie Davis), Richards old and spurned girlfriend. Davis to is great casting and has been seen in many UK based television shows after being very successful in her native Australia. The sometime antagonist of the movie, ‘The Kestrel’, played by the absolutely delightful Russell Tovey, who has been in many genre shows is here playing a deranged super fan, he once again shows that he is one of the great underrated actors in the UK at the moment having graduated from television is now a staple in very good English films, he alone is worth seeing in a very unusual role.

    For one I really enjoyed this movie, and I mean a lot – it has some great sequences of comedy as well as action, which suited all of the characters down to the ground. The setting is amazing as well – I would struggle to think of any other location that could make fun of itself like The Isle of Man does in this movie. All of the locations are full of originality as well as the situations they are used in. One of my favorites is the ‘Jammer’ county club that Steve Coogan’s character has opened after his immense success with his own television show – something you can imagine a Partridge like character would do in another comedy – just priceless. In fact this movie takes time to set up most of the main characters in their homes which are very different according to their own personal success, there is a caravan, a stately home and the country club – a unique thing in this kind of comedy.

    I would recommend this to all, I found it highly enjoyable, not only that, it fits right alongside any of Julian Barratt’s work whether it is him as an actor or writer. It has been so long since the Boosh produced anything I would take anything, and in fact the character of Thorncroft in some ways is as Boosh like as you can get. He is a man of huge ego with no idea how ridiculous he is. Not only that it could be seen as a play on the success Barratt had as Moon and has in some people eyes not re-captured (only the truly cruel or naive would say that) – the great line from Simon Callow (playing himself) about how much he loved seeing Thorncroft in whatever it was – then realizes that he was in a short lived television show may ring true to some.

    Go watch now and have a laugh on Barrett.

    “Mindhorn” is available to stream now.

  • DVD/Blu-ray Review: “Childhood’s End” (2015)

    DVD/Blu-ray Review: “Childhood’s End” (2015)

    “Childhood’s End” (2015)

    Science Fiction/Mini Series/Television

    3-stars

    Running Time: minutes

    Executive producers, Akiva Goldsman, Michael De Luca, Matthew Graham, Alissa Phillips; producers, Paul M. Leonard, Nick Hurran, John G. Lenic; director, Hurran; writer, Graham; based on the novel by Arthur C. Clarke

    Featuring: Charles Dance, Mike Vogel, Daisy Betts, Julian McMahon, Osy Ikhile, Colm Meaney, Yael Stone, Ashley Zukerman, Georgina Haig, Hayley Magnus, Charlotte Nicdao

    Supervisor Karellen: “If you want a single proof of the essential—how shall I put it—benevolence of the Overlords, think of that cruelty-to-animals order which they made within a month of their arrival. If I had had any doubts about Karellen before, that banished them!”

    Finally the 2015 television miniseries “Childhood’s End” (2015) based on the Arthur C. Clarke book of the same name has been released on DVD and Bluray in New Zealand, the result is a mixed bag with good points as well as some negatives, with the overall result being something science fans will enjoy but will remind them of story lines from other genre television shows. While the story has been around since 1953 there has never been a major adaptation done until now, it is not the hardest work to adapt but the scope meant that there would need to be a whole host of special effects, perhaps nobody wanted to pay for that, also the story takes place over hundreds of years so that can cause complications as there are no single characters that last the entire story. It was with some amount of glad tidings that the US television channel newly re-branded Syfy decided to make the story, it showed a lot of guts and faith in the fans for tuning in – it was a modest success with many element being ported over from the book.

    The miniseries begins in a distant future, Milo Rodericks, claiming to be the last living human, records a message from the ruin of a post-apocalyptic Earth. As he begins we shift to 2016 where both the United States and the Soviet Union are about to enter outer space using nuclear-powered spaceships. Just as both countries close in on the achievement of space travel, a number of giant alien spaceships come down over every major city in the world.

    Five years later, these aliens, known as the Overlords, have taken control of the entire world. Their flagship is based over New York and is managed by Karellen, the Overlord who is charge of Earth-related affairs. The humans know Karellen as “the Supervisor.” Karellen uses the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Stormgren, as his liaison to the human race. Once every few weeks, Karellen meets with Stormgren inside his ship. However, neither Stormgren nor any other human has ever seen what an Overlord looks like.

    To start with even though this miniseries had a four and half hour running time the narrative was structured so that it took place over one human lifetime – which was one of the more unfortunate things about this adaptation. Not only that but this story was, unlike, Clarke’s original novel extremely American-centric, which meant that it can come across like the Americans are the chosen people, which leads the viewer down a very strange path. In the original novel it is the head of the UN that is the ‘vessel’ for the people of Earth to the ‘Overlords’ own Ambassador, Karellen. Whilst these changes in and of themselves are understandable (it was made for US television and keeping the timeline reduced also reduces the budget) the viewer cannot help think that they are missing out on something special – in particular for readers of the excellent novel. I cannot help but think that not only was this a missed opportunity but that the entire story would have made more sense to just the casual person thereby giving it more appeal as well as adding an added weight to the themes behind the story.

    This mini-series is directed by Nick Hurran and written by Matthew Graham both experienced English television writer/directors, however neither of them have had any real film experience. However within their work they have a bit of experience in genre television, which of course in terms of this material is a plus. The reason I mention their lack of film work is that this could have used some of the scope and breadth that is routinely seen in genre movies. This min-series was never going to go beyond its three episodes so it would have been great to see use of different locales and once again attempted to make it more epic in feel. Even the cinematographer, Neville Kidd, has only had television experience so he has not seemed to stray too far from his comfort zone in terms of the look of the series, which again is a little disappointing as this was screaming for a look that fitted its lofty ideas.

    Unfortunately the feeling that this is just another lite version of “Independence Day” (1996) something we have all seen before in different mediums as well as iterations is extremely hard to shake as the story unfolds. Even though the aliens this time seem to be benevolent we are still dealing with extremely worn out tropes of alien invasion movies, with very different people doing very different things, all having very familiar motivations. The soul of the novel are gone, once again though this could have been mitigated by spreading the miniseries over hundreds of years – this comes into play more succinctly when there is some space travel involved and plot holes start to open up – such a shame.

    This is not to say that this miniseries is bad or should not be watched; in fact I recommend this miniseries highly as there are so few good science fiction closed story series on air at the moment. Some people say we are living in some golden age of television but I think we are just seeing a glut of shows that are the same quality as we have had over the past twenty years, its just that with so many there are a higher number but I think not a higher ratio. This is not a high end show it is a middle ground which some shows would be happy to reach.

    “Childhood’s End” is available now on DVD & Blu-ray.

    CHILDHOOD’S END — “The Overlords” Episode 101 — Pictured: Mike Vogel as Ricky Stormgren — (Photo by: Narelle Portanier/Syfy)
  • DVD/Blu-ray review: “Patriots Day” (2017)

    DVD/Blu-ray review: “Patriots Day” (2017)

    “Patriots Day” (2017)

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    Drama

    Running Time: 133 minutes

    Directed by: Peter Berg

    Featuring: Mark Wahlberg, J. K. Simmons, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon, and Michelle Monaghan

    Sgt. Tommy Saunders: “What I saw today, good versus evil, love versus hate. There’s only one weapon you have to fight back with, it’s love. You wrap your arms around each other, I don’t think there’s a way they could ever win.”

    The second film within six months from Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg after the excellent “Deepwater Horizon” (2016), this is another true story, centered on the immediate aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing.

    On April 15, 2013, two bombs explode during the Boston Marathon. In the aftermath of the attack, police Sgt. Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg), FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon) and Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman) join courageous survivors, first responders and other investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the suspects and bring them to justice.

    If something is worth doing its worth doing right – this is something that goes through my mind when I watch Peter Bergs films, he has an inate sense of how to portray real life scenes of tragedy and heroism in a way that makes you feel a part of the action or event as well as following the characters journey. It must also be said that his now frequent collaborator, Mark Wahlberg, is fast becoming a reliable character actor, so much so that he is able to hold his own onscreen with many of the top actors working today. It must be only a matter of time before he is rewarded for that, and I for one hope it happens in a Peter Berg directed film.

    Berg not only uses a cinéma vérité approach to this film, he also uses something the authorities would also use, the footage from smart phones, CCTV footage and television footage to show not only the hours before the event but also during, when the carnage was at its worse –  then after when the speedy and extremely stressful investigation gets underway. This is extremely effective as it of course seems to let us in on the main focus of the film, that is the characters, but does not tell us what role they will play. In the second half of the film as we move in on the bombers and the investigation is in its later stages Berg takes a more traditional approach, we see conventional setups take shape right up to the final moments. It is an effective approach and is a film of two halves – we are thrown off in the first and then we regroup and start to take stock and move into more traditional movie making.

    For a film with such a basic storyline the depth comes from the characters, much like his earlier work, “The Kingdom” (2009), where, while it covered similar territory it was the relationships that served as the meaning behind the film. This too does something similar, with Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) who interacts most frequently with, DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon) and Commissioner Davis (John Goodman) – there are some self-reflective moments between Saunders and Superintendent William Evans (James Colby). These are all welcome as they put real emotion into the police and what some of the investigators went through over the five days of the event.

    Berg is at his best (it seems from recent evidence) at presenting the minutiae of any part of a given story that involves a process that needs to be carried out where the objective is to discover some truth. He has done this in many films but none so clinical as “Patriots Day” where the discovery is not only important to one person or one city but to an entire country. As we have witnessed over the past sixteen years there is nothing so scary as a random (seemingly) act of violence and in this case terrorism. It has to be said it is not only surprising how quick the terrorists were brought to justice but how it happened through seemingly unrelated coincidences and acts of real bravery by everyday people.

    The humanity of the victims and survivors is in show with a number of the cast and they are given quite a bit of screen time. The only character we do not see enough of is the wife of Saunders played by Michelle Monaghan who as usual shines in all of her brief appearance – this could have been beefed up to illustrate the toll on the family of the authorities investigating the bombing.

    This film sits nicely alongside other Wahlberg/Berg joints such as “Lone Survivor” (20011) and “Deepwater Horizon” (2016) as well the Berg directed “The Kingdom” (2009) and “Friday Night Lights” (2005). I recommend this movie highly and it looks great on the big screen.

  • DVD/Blu-ray review: “Fences” (2016)

    DVD/Blu-ray review: “Fences” (2016)

    “Fences” (2016)

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    Drama

    Running Time: 138 minutes

    Directed by: Denzel Washington

    Featuring: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson and Saniyya Sidney

    Bono: “Some people build fences to keep people out, and other people build fences to keep people in.”

    Denzel Washington as actor, producer and director brings August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play to the screen from a screenplay Wilson wrote before his death in 2005. This film is not only a tour de force for Washington who won a Tony on Broadway for the same role, but also showcases Viola Davis in the role for which she too won a Tony. The film is about African-American characters, their emotional ties to each other and the world around them. It also brings to the screen characters that have only been hinted at in the past as well as highlighting Wilson’s amazing prose.

    “Fences” is set In 1950s Pittsburgh, Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) lives with his wife Rose (Viola Davis) and their son Cory (Jovan Adepo), and works as a waste collector alongside his best friend, Jim Bono (Stephen McKinley Henderson). Troy’s older brother, Gabe Maxson (Mykelti Williamson), sustained a head injury in World War II that left him mentally impaired, for which he received a $3000 government payout which Troy used to purchase a home for his family. Gabe has since moved out, but still lives in the neighborhood, where he is often tormented by the local children.

    In his adolescence, Troy left home and became a robber to sustain himself. After killing a man during a robbery led him to prison, he met Bono and revealed himself to be a talented baseball player. He then played in the professional Negro league baseball, but failed to achieve a career in Major League Baseball. Although it is likely that he was rejected due to his advanced age, Troy firmly believes he was passed over due to the color of his skin. Having survived a near-fatal bout of pneumonia in his youth, Troy claims to have done so by defeating the Grim Reaper in a fistfight, upon which the Reaper vowed to return for a rematch.

    The performances from all cast members is excellent and this is very much a character piece,  each actor is thrust into the center of the story at some point – but don’t be fooled this is very much Denzel Washington’s film, here he proves why he is the pre-eminent actor of his generation, both on stage and in the movies. Washington plays Troy with added weight, a small stoop and a lot of attitude that he has never let go of because of his childhood and the racism he has faced over the years. Troy also is hard on both his sons who are trying to get along and make the best of their new world – Troy through a misplaced idea of protection comes off as a selfish bully who wants to keep his family as victims of his perverted world view. This is possibly the most negative character Washington has ever played and he offers no hint of salvation, right to the bitter end.

    Viola Davis as Rose, feels like she was born to play this part as the wife who has put up with her husband, Troy, for years, all of his bluster, bravado and bullshit – she knows how to bring him back to earth and seems to ride a fine line as the matriarch and the grounding that holds not only the family but the home together as well. Rose at the end of the movie is very different to the character at that we are introduced to – after Troy’s betrayal Rose decides to make her own life a priority and focuses on her family – protecting those with the fence.

    This film whilst focusing on both racial and family issues is centered in one geographic location and watching this film is very much like watching the play – there are very little wide shots and most of the film is shot in two shots and close ups – in fact when the camera moves it is actually quite jarring and out of place, which is a little odd, but this was a rushed production and I think this shows onscreen. The film while true to the play is not cinematic in the least, and that is a shame and has to be squarely placed at the feet of Washington and producer Scott Rudin. It is great to see this story finally on the big screen but it would have been fantastic to see some sweeping shots or some external forces placed on the family. As an adaptation and a character study that relates to racism in America and the familial damage that this causes this is first rate, however as a film in the medium it could do with some work.

    This is not to say that I do not recommend, in fact I do – this is an important film and should be embraced as a work of art and can show how the written word is so powerful and why it has been such a hit on Broadway. There is also a reason that top actors are drawn to this play and that is because August Wilson was one of the great American playwrights and it is a duty to see his work whenever possible.

    “Fences” is released 10th May 2017.

  • Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Two: “The Secret of the Spoons”

    Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode Two: “The Secret of the Spoons”

    “American Gods” (2017)

    Fantasy/Horror

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    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 rest of the story will become clear as this series unfolds but it is knee deep in mythology old and new with many faces as well as names that will be familiar to many.

    Episode Two: “The Secret of the Spoons”

    Cinematographer: Jo Willems

    Directed by: David Slade

    “There’s none so blind as those who do not listen.”

    This episode picks up after Shadow’s run in with Technical Kid where Mr. Wednesday orders them to Chicago to collect “his hammer” – which actually turns out to be the bloodthirsty god of darkness Czernobog (Peter Stomare).

    Shadow once again hallucinates, this time about his late wife Laura (Emily Browning), who tells him that she’s not really dead. Knowing that she is, Shadow soon comes to the understanding that he is losing his mind – particularly with an encounter with another God – Media.

    We also see Bilquist have another encounter and another sex scene where she encounters another forced devotee.

    Interestingly as a prologue to the show as we have a seemingly random ”Coming to America” tale; this time depicting several black men chained together below the deck of a ship.

    Comparing this prologue to the previous episodes, it seems like each one will show just how big of a part several Old Gods played in US history. So, despite them appearing to have no real semblance with the show at first glance, they’re worth paying attention too if you want to get to grips with each of the deities.

    As with the previous episode this one may seem random as well as quite existential, particularly to people who have not read the book. But with Gaiman’s assistance as well as Bryan Fullers talent I think we will all have a grip on things as we move through this first season. Look I will be honest and say that this may seem random to some but the story within the book was so expertly plotted (coming from Gaiman’s comic book days) that I am willing to go with this series until it seems the producers may have lost the plot.

    As I said in my episode one review this episode looks and sounds amazing with a visual signature that follows on quite nicely. We see with these new type of shows that it helps if the director and cinematographer work in unison and understand what they are trying to put up on the screen – as with Fullers “Hannibal” this show looks fantastic – I cannot wait for more.

    Episode two is now available on Amazon Streaming.

  • DVD/Blu-ray review: “Hidden Figures” (2016)

    DVD/Blu-ray review: “Hidden Figures” (2016)

    “Hidden Figures” (2016)

    Drama

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    Running Time: 127 minutes

    Directed by: Theodore Melfi

    Featuring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Mahershala Ali, Jim Parsons

    Mary Jackson: “Every time we get a chance to get ahead they move the finish line. Every time.”

    Whilst some could argue last year was a good year for minorities in films I would argue that the fact that it is highlighted shows film makers still have a long way to go – in regard to women in film there is even a longer way to go. However, it is with glad tidings that I report that “Hidden Figures” (2016) directed and co-written by Theodore Melfi gives hope with a rousing story about three African-American women working for NASA in the 1960s, holding their own against absolutely everything and everyone of that era.

    The film recounts the story of three African-American women who worked in professional positions at NASA and helped the United States advance during the Space Race. Mathematician Katherine Johnson and her two colleagues, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, worked in the segregated West Area Computers division of Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Using these calculations, NASA supported John Glenn in becoming the first American astronaut to make a complete orbit of Earth.

    This is a fundamentally an excellent movie, everyone involved has done an exceptional job in all aspects of production. In particular the writing, directing and acting (the big three) are top notch and it is incredible to think that is has taken this long for this story to be told, particularly when we live in a world where “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989) exists.

    The film’s narrative is told mostly from the point of view of Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) with their stories told in of importance with the relevant amount of screen time allocated to them. While the films plot is based mainly around Johnson, it is important to note that both Vaughan and Jackson have their own very personal and separate arcs within the narrative, each fighting for their own way through the system that they have been marginalized within.

    To say this film is about race and what that meant to African Americans living in Virginia in the 1960s would be an understatement. The film does shy away from any real racial violence of the time, and instead focussus on what it was like to try and get along while taking small steps towards a better life. Each of the principal characters are close friends and encourage each other in a very real way – not making grand statements, but asking questions and making themselves think about how they can become more than the promise of what Has gone before. Like the astronauts themselves these women were as much pioneers as those explorers. They had courage in the face of the unknown and know at any time the wrong step could be their last – they also are aware that they are standing on the shoulders of ancestors and relatives that have led their lives to this point.

    This is a drama but there are many moments of levity which is a valid way of dealing with stress and the director and co-writer Theodore Melfi, who fresh off his under-rated debut “St. Vincent” (2014), knows how to balance the two very nicely without becoming too reliant on laughs or sentiment. That brings me to the music, which is another highlight of this fantastic film.

    Pharrell Williams is an integral part of this movie, it is his presence that really pushes this film above many others – he acts as Producer, Composer and a soul to the film. When making a period piece that involves African Americans it would be easy to play the sentiment card and have music of the period playing, having the characters singing along – this film goes a different route. Williams has composed and performed (it must be said along with star Janelle Monáe) music for the film that is original but harks back to the time and it is excellent – I highly recommend buying the soundtrack – I am listening to it as I write this.

    Like all great films, this one, as a drama, is built around great, believable and passionate performances, led by the incredible and talented (and Oscar winner) Octavia Spencer, she has proved over her career that she is an actress with talent and is to be reckoned with on the screen. She acts as the member of the trio that holds them together and never lets on her own issues, instead she figures out not only how to keep her job, but the jobs of her friends, by learning a new computer language and making herself indispensible to NASA and to the people who actually designed the computer in the first place. Janelle Monáe plays the firebrand of the piece and is showing how talented she is, by not only being a musical artist but an actress to watch for in upcoming films. Finally, the glorious Taraji P. Henson who has been lighting up the screen for years as a character actress, now finds herself in the lead role in what is going to be a major success and she grabs the reins and doesn’t let up, not even when the final reel has run.

    The supporting cast, led by Kevin Costner, and including Kisten Dunst, Jim Parsons and Mahershala Ali also come to the movie firing on all cylinders – they are all playing real (mostly) people that either hinder or help the three woman attain their goals – each is unapologetic in what they witness over the course of the piece and this makes them at once sympathetic and real to themselves.

    Its hard to make a perfect film and the only quibble I have is that the relationship between some of the secondary charters is not explored fully and in some cases there feels like a lot was left on the cutting room floor. This is very minor as I can see it meant there was more that the filmmakers wanted to focus on – the three women of course!

    This is a film that only comes along once in a while and without reservation you should seek this out at theatres and enjoy it as much as the audience I saw it with – and if you feel the need to clap then do so – this is something that is worth celebrating!

    Released on DVD/Blu-ray 10th May 2017.

  • Film review: “Alien: Covenant” (2017)

    Film review: “Alien: Covenant” (2017)

    “Alien: Covenant” (2017)

    Horror/Science Fiction

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    Running Time: 123 minutes

    Written by: John Logan and Dante Harper

    Directed by: Ridley Scott

    Featuring:  Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride and Demián Bichir

    David: “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

    Ridley Scott returns to the world of ‘Alien’ once again after his now classic second film, “Alien” (1979) and his not so classic “Prometheus” (2014). It appears he has some unfinished business with the franchise, particularly after killing a rival ‘Alien’ movie that was to be directed by Neill Blomkamp, as well as featuring original star Sigourney Weaver. I for one welcome any movie in this franchise, looking back I even enjoy the films that failed and still fail to connect with audiences, So it was with high hopes I entered into this film. I had watched and enjoyed the three short films that were the marketing for this movie, particularly the Noomi Rapace/Michal Fassbender “The Crossing” (2017) which I recommend you see as well. I can report that this is well worth watching as it is a real throwback to not only the Alien franchise but R-rated horror films as well.

    Of course where would an ‘Alien’ film be without a long outer space voyage, and this movie starts with one, during which the 2,000 human passengers, along with 1,140 embryos, linger in a deep-freeze sleep for several years. The giant ship, called Covenant, is headed for a very distant planet, Origae-6, which is considered a promising new home for humanity to settle. For this reason, not only the slumbering immigrants, but the crew, too, are composed of prospective parents meant to propagate and establish a new home.

    This couples-only plot point does give the movie a new feeling, it also means that when things go wrong as they were always going to, it means there is a double sense of loss when someone dies.

    Scott has done a mini reboot behind the scenes as well as on camera for this new Alien installment, we have his usual director of photography Dariusz Wolski returning as well as a pair of new screenwriters, dumping the absolutely awful Damon Lindeloff, for Oscar nominated (and “Gladiator” (2004) writer) John Logan as well as newcomer Dante Harper. All of these changes are welcome, particularly Lindeloff who seems to deflate anything he is involved with script wise.

    It is great to see Wolski return as he nailed the look of “Prometheus” with both the exteriors of the planet as well the interiors of the Prometheus itself. Wolski is one of the best cinematographers working today; he is in high demand so it is great that he and Scott enjoy working together to produce some of the best-looking movies around. Ridley too is a welcome return, there are few director working today that can command the cinematic language involved in making not only a big budget film but one that has a huge cinematic legacy, of course that legacy does have some holes in it. What I find refreshing about Ridley Scott is that he has such a high attention to detail in particular with the mise-en-scène that you never doubt any of the locations that exist in this artificial world.

    The director has made more of an ‘Alien’ movie than a “Prometheus” follow up with more scares and many more actual xenomorphs – this plays like a horror film than many of the other films in the franchise, it may even be the best entry after the first two groundbreaking movies. The movie also attempts to tackle what the previous film tried to do which was analyze what it means to be alive, sentient as well as the asking the questions about where life starts, where it stops as well as where the spark of life originates from.

    Once again Michael Fassbender illustrates why he is one of the best actors around as his David from the original film encounters the newly created ‘synthetic’, Walter. Fassbender aided buy special effects plays David and Walter off against each other. David has become a kind of Frankenstein with the alien virus from “Prometheus”, he evens says idle hands are the devil’s play things – once you start to witness his creations you will see what he means. It turns out that David has had plans since before he even went on the ill fated trip from the previous film – in an early scene with Weyland (Guy Pearce) you can see fear palpable on David’s creator’s face which is extremely chilling. David’s point of view as well as his true nature can be seen by Oram (Billy Crudup, here so excellent) who says he has seen the Devil as a child and can recognise him anywhere.

    This film moves the origin of species onwards, it is fitting to me that mankind is reaching for the star but is being bitten by something that is closer to home, than in the heavens. There is certainly an aspect of reaping what you sow, in particular in the area of technology as well as creating something that you do not know what the ramifications of which will be – something that we could lean in todays world. Of course it is not limited to technology, as well see the original Captain of the ‘Covenant’ being killed and being replaced by someone out of their depth and who finds it hard to string two words together – sound familiar.

    If you like R-rated horror films as well as science fiction movies with a great director at the helm then this is for you. If you are squeamish then maybe try something else. This is a return form for Scott who at eighty years of age is directing movies like someone a quarter of his age – not afraid to correct mistakes of the past, but with an eye on the future – I am so looking forward to the next instalment.

    “Alien: Covenant” (2017) is out now in New Zealand theatres.

  • Film review: “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” (2017)

    Film review: “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” (2017)

    “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” (2017)

    Action

    3-stars

    Running Time: 126 minutes

    Written by: Guy Ritchie

    Directed by: Guy Ritchie

    Featuring: Charlie Hunnam, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, Jude Law and Eric Bana

    King Arthur: “I’m not getting drawn into this mess! There’s an army of you, there’s only one of me! I’ll talk, I’m happy to talk. But there is NO WAY that I am fighting.”

    Either Guy Ritchie is the perfect choice for yet another visit to the world of the Arthurian legend or he is the absolute worst – it really depends on which Ritchie shows up, and how well he treats the source material. I have never had a solid opinion on Ritchie’s work, he seems to either hit in a major way or completely miss the central idea of what he may have been after in any of his movies. This has widely chaotic results, he burst on the scene with the drug/heist film about four mates in “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” (1998), which not only launched Ritchie, but also became a calling card for the inimitable Jason Statham, producer (who can also direct) Matthew Vaughn, as well as re-launching Dexter Fletcher (who is also a hell of a director in his own right). From there he has hit the highs with “Snatch” (2000), “Sherlock Holmes” (2009 – 2011), as well the lows “Revolver” (2005) and the much maligned “Swept Away” (2002). His last movie “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (2015) failed to make an impression but I thought it was very good with strength in the casting; something Ritchie has always been able to mange extremely well in every single one of his movies.

    This movie begins with the young Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) who runs the back streets of Londinium with his crew, unaware of his royal lineage until he draws the sword Excalibur from the stone. Instantly confronted by the sword’s influence, Arthur is forced to decide when to become involved with his power. Throwing in with the Resistance and an enigmatic young woman (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey), he must learn to master the sword, face down his demons, unite the people to defeat the tyrant Vortigern (Jude Law) — who murdered his parents and stole his crown — and become king.

    This film has had a long trip to the big screen, it was delayed by at least a year, this being blamed on scheduling but I think it may have been because the tone was not found in its initial edit – something all of the trailers have yet to nail down. Was this going to be a blokey action movie or something more serious, akin to the legend we know? Was this going to be a departure from previous scattershot frenetically paced Ritchie films or more of a steady still camera action/drama? In my opinion it has a mixed tone which makes it very messy, the language is inconsistent, some of the actors are in a completely different film and the some of the huge special effects are messy and shaky to say the least.

    The cast that has been assembled for this Arthurian outing is one you would expect to see in any Guy Ritchie movie with the addition of the American transplanted English television star (“Sons of Anarchy” (2008-2014)) Charlie Hunnam, who has yet to prove himself as a big screen presence. Hunnam you can tell really has given himself over to the role, which you have to if you are going to play a part that by its very nature is epic as well as having quite a large literary as well as cinematic history. What Ritchie has done is to give Hunnam some great supporting actors, starting with Eric Bana as his father, Uther Pendragon, who while not in the film much sets up the strong bloodline that Arthur has to follow. The antagonist of the movie is the always-underrated Jude Law as Vortigern who plays the usurper of the movie who wants to hold power and dominion over all. Rounding out the experienced cast is the reliable Djimon Hounsou playing one of the key figures, Bedivere, as well as “Game of Thrones” (2011 – present) actor Aidan Gillen as Bill – it is a shame Gillen has become primarily known for the role of Littlefinger as it disregards all the incredible work he has done over the past three decades. For me the highlight was relative newcomer Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, as the Mage that help Arthur figure out who he is as well as training him to wield the sword, Excalibur.

    With a film set that is set in medieval Britain the look was always going to be a key component and Ritchie has wisely utilized John Mathieson as his cinematographer fresh off working with the director on “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (2015) remake. Mathieson also brings all of the experience of working with Ridley Scott for years, in particular the look of “Gladiator” (2000) is used n this film to illustrate the grit and grime of the time period. Unfortunately as i have said the entire film is let down by shoddy effects work as well as some uneven set work. Not only that i found some of the costuming to be baffling, Hunnam at times looked like a World War II pilot shot down over France – it was very odd.

    The last time I watched an Arthurian movie was the widely panned Antoine Fuqua film “King Arthur” (2004), which I have grown to quite like, with its odd cast that have all become massive in their own right. That film was pre-legend and involved Romans as well as Vikings, which was as historically accurate as any of the similar movies made. The last time I actually loved an Arthurian tale was the always rewatchable “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (1975) which serves as the ultimate touchstone to the legend – all the elements are there with some fine singing, dancing and ridiculous Frenchmen. If only this movie had some of the charm of those outings this would be a really enjoyable movie, but like Ritchie’s worse outings this one has very little charm so another missed opportunity for Arthur and his gang.

    This was supposed to be the first of a few films but judging from the reaction and the box office that will not be happening, so we don’t have even half of the characters that should make an appearance, they were all apparently held back for possible sequels – which now just seems like poor decision making and planning on Ritchie and Warner’s part. The movie is full of the tropes you come to expect but this is added to with a ‘Lock Stock’ feel that seems out of place in what was to be an epic feel – Ritchie should have either made the ‘bloke who becomes King’ or a huge ‘Lord of the Rings’ type adventure, but not a mix of both.

    If you like Hunnam or a blokey geezer film that looks like a cheap “Game of Thrones” rip off then this will be for you, otherwise maybe just watch “The Battle of the Bastards” again if you want a rough medieval feel.

    “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” (2017) is out this week only in theatres.

  • Film review: “Their Finest” (2017)

    Film review: “Their Finest” (2017)

    “Their Finest” (2017)

    Drama/Comedy

    3-stars

    Running Time: 117 minutes

    Written by: Gaby Chiappe

    Directed by:  Lone Scherfig

    Featuring:  Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston, Jake Lacy, Richard E. Grant, Henry Goodman, Rachael Stirling, Eddie Marsan, Helen McCrory, and Claudia Jessie

    Phyl Moore: He is an actor. Unless you have reviewed him, had intercourse with him, or done both simultaneously, he won’t remember you.

    Films about film-making are always entertaining but when you add on the fact that this story takes place in England during World War II after the massacre and defeat at Dunkirk this makes “Their Finest” (2017) all the more entertaining as well as illustrating why movies during times of war or in times of trouble can be so important. This movie for me was touching as well as telling one of the most important defeats of England by Germany before the US entered the war and the tide of the war shifted forever. What this movie does as well is to make fun of almost every role in front of as well as behind the camera – it is fantastic. This movie is also perfectly cast with such fine English actors that you just want this film to never end.

    “Their Finest” is centred around Catrin Cole (Arterton) who is summoned to an interview at the Ministry of Information, where she is taken on to write script for short information films. Her husband Ellis Cole (Jack Huston) is a war artist, unable to get an exhibition and exempted from the call-up due to a Spanish Civil War leg wound – he is initially accepting of her job but when she becomes the only wage earner he begins to feel threatened and plans to send her back home to Wales, on the pretence of keeping her safe from the London Blitz.

    After a clash with the actor Ambrose Hilliard (Nighy) when he asks for a change to one of her scripts, Catrin’s superiors instead send her to research a news story about twin sisters Lily and Rose sailing their father’s boat to take part in the Dunkirk evacuation. However, on meeting them she discovers that they in fact had engine trouble just off Southend-on-Sea shortly after setting off and were towed back into port by a tug which had taken part in the evacuation and so were mistakenly reported as reaching Dunkirk themselves. At risk of losing her Ministry job and being sent back to Wales, Catrin lies to her superiors and they agree to make the film as “The Nancy Starling”, with Catrin, Tom Buckley (Claflin) and Raymond Parfitt (Paul Ritter) as the scriptwriters. They begin to write a scenario and – even when their superiors discover Catrin’s deception – she convinces them to continue with its production as fictional film rather than a factual one.

    This movie tackles so many issues of life during World War II it is hard to know where to begin. The stress that Londoners lived with from day to day is one of the elements of the film that is dealt with, some pretty heavy emotions for a movie that deals with show business, albeit even during war time. All of the characters within this movie have to deal with reality that they, their friends or families may not be around after a night of shelling by the Nazis, it is frightening and becomes all too real for each and every character within this film – I warn you now there will tears.

    Another of the most important ideas that the film looks at, and this was not unique to the UK, but to all counties involved in the war was the fact that most able bodied men were away fighting the war – so this had the effect of forcing women into roles they would not traditionally be involved in. There are plenty of examples of this but my favorite example are the twins who the movie is based on become engineers – because of the movie that is ultimately made. This movie deals with the war, not the aftermath where there was fallout from men returning home to women who had a taste of equality and wanted more. That is another film that deserves to be made as well, another movie to look at is the Tom Hanks film “A League of their own” (1992) which dealt with similar issues although not as deadly in terms of the loss of life on the home front.

    This film works for many reasons, one of the prime reasons are the lead actors who all have their choice of roles as well as possessing high international recognition so it is to their credit that they appear in this film. The film’s lead is Gemma Arterton who lately has had a successful run of English produced movies such as “Gemma Bovary” (2014), “The Girl with all the Gifts” (2017) and now “Their Finest” (2017). Arterton is playing Welsh and a girl married to an artist fleeing the job as a munitions girl – she wants more  so supports both of them while trying to flex her own artistic muscles – she is a shining light in this film. One wonders how long it is before she goes on to bigger roles. The two male leads are played by Sam Claflin who is a somewhat love interest as well as a screenwriter; and Bill Nighy as an aging leading man known to the public for playing a police officer in his heyday which is fading fast. Claflin after his stint in the ‘Hunger Games’ franchise has been making smaller English films, this must stand as one of the better ones, here he proves he is not only a great smile but can act alongside some of the best. Nighy who exudes charms has made playing eccentric characters look easy and it should come as no surprise that not only is he funny but he also delivers some of the most emotional dialogue towards the end of the film.

    This movie which could be called somewhat feminist, it is written by Gaby Chiappe and directed by Lone Scherfig both women as well very experienced filmmakers – I cannot think of two more qualified people to adapt the book by Lissie Evans. All three women are a partnership in honoring a special story about courageous artists who would not let the truth get in their way. This story honors all the people who suffered as well as come to the aid of others when the events on Dunkirk unfolded – it shows that the event like all successes happen when people work together and not tear each other down. The narrative of the film is simple following cause and effect while maintaining a traditional three act structure, this film becomes something special with real lessons being taught – one of the biggest is to honor the fallen, respect those who have gone before but don’t let dogmatic and out of date practices frame reality.

    I for one cannot recommend this movie more highly; it is funny, sad as well as being redemptive. It should make you go and find out more about this time in the UK as well as the world. It should also make you think about where you are in the world and the sacrifices that were made to get you there. I have said in earlier reviews that the UK produce one or two low budget films about people each year, this looks to be the first and I hope it’s not the last.

    Out now in New Zealand cinemas.

    Like this? Try:

    “Eddie the Eagle” (2016)

    “Sunshine on Leith” (2013)

    “The King’s Speech” (2010)

    “A Royal Night Out” (2016)

    Their Finest Hour and A Half Directed by Lone Sherfig
    Gemma Arterton and Sam Claflin film a scene for the movie ‘Their Finest Hour and a Half’ in east London Featuring: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin Where: London, United Kingdom When: 16 Sep 2015 Credit: WENN.com
    M78 Sam Clafin and Gemma Arterton star in EuropaCorp’s Their Finest. PHOTO CREDIT – NICOLA DOVE © British Broadcasting Corporation / Their Finest Limited 2016
    Gemma Arterton films a scene for the movie ‘Their Finest Hour and a Half’ in east London Featuring: Sam Claflin Where: London, United Kingdom When: 16 Sep 2015 Credit: WENN.com
  • Blu-ray/DVD Review: “Manchester by the Sea” (2016)

    Blu-ray/DVD Review: “Manchester by the Sea” (2016)

    “Manchester by the Sea” (2016)

    5stars_small

    Drama

    Running Time: 137 minutes

    Directed by: Kenneth Lonergan

    Featuring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Gretchen Mol, and Lucas Hedges

    Randi Chandler: “I said a lot of terrible things to you. My heart was broken, and I know yours is broken, too.”

    The third film written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan (after “You can count on me” (2000) and “Margaret (2011)) arrives on DVD & Blu-ray this month. “Manchester by the Sea” (2017) was nominated or won numerous awards over the past six months so has been a success in anyone’s books, this reviewer is not going against the grain. It is a wholly original work both in front and behind the camera – this is a film that topped off 2016 as a year that has ended up being pretty good, film wise anyway.

    The film sees Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), a quiet and reserved janitor in Quincy, Massachusetts, who has his share of stress. One morning he receives a message from George (C.J. Wilson) , a family friend, that his brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) has had a heart attack. Joe dies before Lee can reach the hospital.

    Lee goes to his hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea to break the news to Joe’s son Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Staying in Joe’s home while arranging Joe’s funeral and looking after Patrick temporarily, he is shocked to learn that Joe named him as Patrick’s guardian. To accept this role, Lee would be required to move permanently to Manchester, but he is tortured by memories of the death of his children in a fire he inadvertently caused, his subsequent suicide attempt, and his eventual divorce from his wife Randi (Michelle Williams)

    The big themes in “Manchester by the Sea” (2017) are loss and the redemptive power of love, and living your life for someone else – accepting responsibility when you don’t really want it. Casey Affleck brings these thoughts and emotions to the screen with a commitment not often seen on the screen, and not for the amount of time he must have spent in a very dark place. It is an honor to Lonergan’s script that Affleck is able to deliver a performance that many people can relate to – this is not just a white man’s film but a film that could reflect many cultures in the world today – all you need to have experienced is loss.

    Lonergan made his name in writing stage plays and that is how he and Affleck first became aware of each other – Affleck appeared onstage in one of Lonergan’s plays – and why Affleck was considered for this role – they have wanted to work together onscreen for years. This, it turns out was an excellent film for them to team up on, as it offers so much in terms of performance, themes and story.

    The film like others of its kind let us in on a family’s personal life, the problems and adversities they face in everyday life as well as once in a life time losses. The movie reveals some whoppers and Lee is at the center of all of them, even his brother’s diagnosis and ultimate death. The plot of the film is fairly simple, but the tragedy is all too cruel and unusual. The narrative on the other hand splits the film in two, as the present moves ahead so to do the flashback scenes, offering us glimpses into Lee’s life before he left Manchester-by-the-sea, it is not a unique storytelling device but the way in which it is used is, coupled with the extremely beautiful way it is shot leaves a lasting impression.

    I had heard that the film was described as dark and depressing but I can assure you that whilst the film has its dark patches there is, like life, humour to be had in a naturalistic way.

    The standout scene is when Lee is read the will of his brother, the flashback scene that is contained within that segment is one of the most heartbreaking and well-constructed scenes of the year. The aftermath is draining and senseless.

    Lonergan uses the geography and some classical music to convey the loneliness, anger and powerless Lee feels when he returns home and while he is there as the realization that he may not leave again.

    This is a beautiful film that will not easily leave you once viewed, and it should be seen in the cinema, it is a film that has been made with an artist’s eye and deserves to be seen. For me Casey Affleck’s performance is the star of not only this movie but of the year.

    Out now on DVD & Blu-ray.

  • Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode One – The Bone Orchard

    Streaming Review: “American Gods” (2017 – ) Episode One – The Bone Orchard

    “American Gods” (2017)

    Fantasy/Horror

    images

    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 rest of the story will become clear as this series unfolds but it is knee deep in mythology old and new with many faces as well as names that will be familiar to many.

    Episode One: “The Bone Orchard”

    Cinematographer: Jo Willems

    Directed by: David Slade

    Guard (to Shadow Moon): “It’s like one of those good/news bad news jokes, isn’t it? The good news is, we’are lettin’ you out early. The bad news is your wife’s dead.”

    This first episode written by Bryan Fuller who served as show runner on the incredible “Hannibal” (2014 – 2016) television series and directed by the always underrated David Slade is full of plot as well as background to main character Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) just released from prison early (marginally) on his way home to bury his now deceased wife.

    Firstly this is a stunning looking first episode, the cinematographer, Jo Willems who has previously worked on the last three “Hunger Games” films is no stranger to making scenes as well as scenery look fantastic. This television show resides in the real world as well as some fantasy world that all of the protagonists inhabit, sometimes at the same time. It is to Slade as well as Willems that they walk the line with the look as well as the feel of this first episode – they know how each other works as Willems was the cinematographer on all Slade’s films, “Hard Candy” (2005), “30 Days of Night” (2007) and “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” (2010).

    There have been untold stories set in US penitentiaries, or made about convicts both current and ex, so it is with glee that I was looking forward to seeing Shadow Moons introduction to this series and I was not let down. In the book as well as this show Shadow lives for one thing up to his release, the love of his wife. When he discovers her fate we are thrust into the story, we are also introduced to Mr Wednesday (Ian McShane) who is somewhat of an anti-hero, as well as being an uneasy ally to Shadow.

    The opening chapter has so much to offer not only the new fan of the show, but also all those long time readers of the book. There are moments directly taken from the pages as well as brand new pieces that Gaiman has added for many reasons – no doubt we will find out in time why those changes have been made. The biggest and best set piece is in the bar where Mr. Wednesday picks up Shadows scent, as well as this we are introduced to the Leprechaun Mad Sweeney played deviously by Pablo Schreiber who threatens to steal the entire episode – but then there is that sex scene with Bilquis (played with a sexual worship by Yetide Badaki) which has to be seen to be believed.

    Seek this out right now and you will have trouble waiting for Episode 2 – I know I am.

    Available to stream on Amazon Prime.

  • DVD/Blu-ray review: “Jackie” (2016)

    DVD/Blu-ray review: “Jackie” (2016)

    “Jackie” (2016)

    Drama

    3-stars

    Running Time: 99 minutes

    Written by: Noah Oppenheim

    Directed by: Pablo Larraín

    Featuring: Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup and John Hurt

    Jacqueline Kennedy: “I’m not the First Lady anymore. I lost Jack somewhere. I was real, that was performance.”

    So much has been written and filmed about ‘Camelot’ and the Kennedys that “Jackie” (2016) isn’t the first and surely will not be the last project about JFK, more importantly, Jackie, his wife. This film alone has gone through a number of iterations including once being attached to Darren Arynofsky as director, although he now serves as producer, and this is how Oscar winner (for “Black Swan” (2010)) Natalie Portman comes to it in the title role, as Jacqueline Kennedy.

    “Jackie” follows Jackie Kennedy in her final days as First Lady in the White House and her life following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, in 1963. It focuses on Theodore H. White’s Life magazine interview with the widow at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The film moves back and forth from the Kennedys entering the White House to the aftermath of JFK’s assination.

    Pablo Larraín, the director, his cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine film Portman and other characters in close up, sometimes extremely so, providing a challenge for all the actors, as well the lighting department, who have to be ready, not letting up on their performances at all – both technically as well as performance wise. It is no coincidence that Fontaine has shot two other magnificent looking films in 2016, “Elle” (2016) as well as “Captain Fantastic” (2016), and no surprise that both films are making critics top 10 lists, they are both remarkable in their own right.

    Portman’s portrayal of the title character delivers what must be the performance of her career, behind her “Black Swan” (2010) character, Nina, which won her the Oscar that year. This one, whilst based in fact, as well as some fiction, sees her not relying on physical moments, but her eyes, her make-up and that voice. We see her nervous before the events in Dallas unfold, as well as the immediate aftermath of the assassination, the funeral arrangements and an interview with Life Magazine much later. There is also footage of a TV Special that was a tour of the White House with Jackie, we see behind and in front of the camera – the first time Jackie has been seen in public and was presented to a huge audience – there is much reference to Lincoln, who was also assassinated after some pretty major historic events.

    This isn’t a one person show and the supporting cast of Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup and John Hurt all give great performances but it is Peter Sarsgaard as RFK, who stands out as not a caricature of the great man, which with the accent it could have been, but in at least one part you sense the loss in his soul not only for himself and his famliy, but also the country.

    The narrative and style of the film has thrown many, which is one of the reasons it has been nominated for only three Oscar’s, Natalie Portman, composer Mica Levi and costume designer Madeline Fontaine. This is definitely a mood and character piece – illustrating the break down and restoration of not only a woman as well as being representative of an entire country that had just seen their husband/President killed in front of their eyes. There is no way to tell what effect this would have on Jackie and the entire Nation – the times they were changing.

    Larraín who has directed many films including the excellent “Tony Manero” (2008) and “No” (2012) both period pieces which reflect different political climates in times when there was much unrest. All three films also deal with celebrity as well as what it means to be popular and where the public and private personas begin and end. With “Jackie” you are witnessing the end of one story and the beginning of another – Jackie the character is finding it hard to move from one life to another something Portman shows in an all too realistic way.

    Mica Levi who also composed the music for the dramatic science fiction “Under the Skin” (2012) again has composed music that haunts the film in an ethereal way that while it does not cue feelings in an obvious way makes us think along with Jackie about what she is going through. The soundtrack is not overpowering but hangs within the film where we can hear it complimenting each scene with such an affection for the story that one must have the other – they are linked in such a loving way.

    The tragedy of the Kennedys has been written about for almost sixty years, and this film reminds us of a lot and what happened over such a short period of time. The strangeness of how the world must have felt, which becomes apparent when we see parallel scenes of Jackie talking about the day of the assassination while Oswald is being shot live on TV by Jack Ruby – it feels surreal and you could not make up what happens over the hour and half of the running time.

    This is a must see and one of the movies of 2016, and while the Best Actress Oscar went to another, Portman in my mind probably should have been the recipient as this is the performance of 2016.

    Natalie Portman as “Jackie Kennedy” in JACKIE. Photo by Stephanie Branchu. © 2016 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved
  • Film review: “Colossal” (2017)

    Film review: “Colossal” (2017)

    “Colossal” (2016)

    Action/Thriller/Horror/Science Fiction

    images

    Running Time: 110 minutes

    Written and Directed by: Nacho Vigalondo

    Featuring: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Austin Stowell, Agam Darshi, and Tim Blake Nelson

    Gloria: “Keep it cool. These people are looking at us.”

    Oscar: “She’s the monster.”

    Its been five years since Anne Hathaway received her Oscar for supporting actress  the for musical “Les Miserables” (2012), at the same time blowing everyone else off the screen, really announcing herself as a force to be reckoned with – if film-makers don’t have her as one of the top five actresses in Hollywood they need to have their heads examined. Since the Oscar Hathaway has appeared in a Sci-fi (“Interstellar” (2014)), a comedy (“The Intern” (2015)), an animated sequel (“Rio 2” (2014)), and a fantasy movie (“Alice Through the Looking Glass “ (2016)). She has proved over the course of her career to be one of the most versatile as well as bankable actresses around. She further proves her talent in her latest movie “Colossal” (2016), an independent comedy/drama about a giant monster and robot, as well as offering quite a few surprises along the way.

    Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is an unemployed writer struggling with alcoholism. Her errant behavior prompts her frustrated boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens) to break up with her and kick her out of their New York City apartment. Gloria ends up reuniting with her childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudeikis), who now runs his late father’s bar.

    Working with Oscar at the bar does not help Gloria’s alcohol problem. After each shift she joins Oscar and his friends Garth (Tim Blake Nelson) and Joel (Austin Stowell) in their ritual of hanging out and drinking until morning. Gloria takes to sleeping it off on a bench near a children’s playground. At the same time, a giant reptilian kaiju appears in Seoul, South Korea, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Gradually, Gloria realizes that when she walks through the playground at exactly 8:05 in the morning, she causes the monster to manifest.Gloria reveals her secret to Oscar and his friends with even more complications – some you will not be prepared for.

    This is a move and a half, that starts with a concept that is leftfield and then keeps going. The film is written and directed by Spanish Nacho Vigalondo, who directed the excellent genre film “Timecrimes” (2007) which played with time travel conventions as well as subverting the tropes involved in such films, giving the plot as well as the narrative a twist that was extremely satisfying. Here with “Colossal” he does something similar but with results that may not satisfy all audiences, especially those that have seen the amazing trailer for this movie. There has been a serious decision to subvert the expectations of the audience with the marketing for this film, which is a great idea, it seems to experiment to see how the public will react as well as seeing if this will be a success for future films. This is an interesting thing to do as it is not uncommon for a shot or two to be missing from a movie after the trailer plays – but not an entire storyline.

    Tensions between the two main characters as well as Gloria’s boyfriend are extremely interesting particularly in terms of gender politics. Hathaway herself has been the aim of vitriol on the Internet – there is even a line of dialogue that pertains to this, veiled in conversation – which I do find odd, she is not the most polarizing actresses I can think of. Within the film things do take a violent turn, I wont say what but its fascinating – as well as being unnerving and quite scary. There are parallels in real life where women who possibly take a stand or are seen as threatening to men (by men of course) are routinely torn down, sad but true. Look at any male dominated section in society where women try and make in-roads and you will find gender specific hostility much like this movie. It truly is a rare film that can show us this with monsters and robots.

    The film balances two main geographic areas, South Korea and the US, the juxtaposition between a large city, Seoul as well as the small town Gloria has come home to in the US are pivotal as the film unfolds. What is great is that these locales become instrumental within the narrative that will become clear in the denouement.

    Nacho Vigalondo at his stage of his career knows the horror/science-fiction genre extremely well having spent most of his career surrounded by it. This is no bad thing and definitely not a knock on him or his obvious talents. It seems like this needed a special director to take hold of the plot through the what becomes a unique narrative to not only show us why things happen as well as the motivations of the characters. There is a slight hole in the plot at one point but what is cool is that the chapters talk about this hole- what fun.

    This is a small budget (compared to other monster films) movie; it has parallels to the great micro budget movie “Monsters” (2010) directed by Gareth Edwards who coincidently directed the big budget version of “Godzilla” (2014). It is about a relationship or relationships that are under pressure from outsize forces. The other element they have in common are their female characters that have issues and are not defined by their gender. In “Colossal” Gloria is an alcoholic who is not defined by a man, who has agency to control her own destiny, in fact what she lacks is not strength but a purpose – something many people male or female can identify with.Like the monster for part of the film she stumbles though life destroying most things in her life until some self awareness takes place – just wonderful.

    As I have said Anne Hathaway as the star of the film is fantastic but the supporting cast that rounds out the film is terrific as well. Particularly Jason Sudeikis who for the most part of his career has played a wise cracking sidekick, he has been pretty reliable as well as likeable in everything he has been in, here is playing someone quite different – believe it or not that can be quite jarring but actually fits within the film extremely well. The other two standouts are Dan Stevens as the boyfriends who dumps Gloria, he (as an actor) is starting to gain momentum in his career after the huge success of “Beauty and the Beast” (2017) as well as critical success from televisions “Legion” (2017). And then there is the always-reliable Tim Blake Nelson who like so many of his talented contemporaries has become the classic character actor, always reliable in big movies with big moments. It can never be underestimated how important great character actors can be in movies, think about any big budget or high profile films, then think about the actor that steals that movie even for short amounts of time.

    Now some people may find this movie underwhelming after seeing the trailers but I loved this movie from the get go. All of the actors are perfectly suited to this small town drama with huge ambition as well as the fact that we get to see a larger world that impacts all the lives of those involved. I recommend this unique film highly, it oozes charm and heart, and while watching it you may be move to think of your childhood and where you have ended up.

    “Colossal” is out now in New Zealand theatres.

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

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

    “Assassins Creed” (2016)

    Action

    3-stars

    Running Time: 115 minutes

    Written by:  Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage

    Directed by: Justin Kurzel

    Featuring: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and Michael K. Williams.

    Cal Lynch: “We work in the dark to serve the light. We are assassins.“

    As I have said in other reviews, Michael Fassbender has been making a lot of movies per year since his break last decade in “300” (2006). This film was one of four films he appeared in last year. To be fair they were all fairly ordinary with the Oscar hopeful “The Light Between Oceans” (2016) being the most disappointing. Now comes “Assassins Creed” (2016) which has now been released on DVD and Blu-ray, which oddly may be the most personal to Fassbender as he served as one of the main producers on this video game adaptation. The problem with making so many films is that saying yes to something that isn’t going to be made for months means that the quality can slip leading to mediocre movies. Recently there have been more than a few films that Fassbender has appeared in that have been at best middle of the road or at worst just terrible. While “Assassins Creed” is nowhere near a bad movie, it does come across as slightly mishandled with a muddled plot and narrative – which is something it has in common with even the greatest video game adaptions.

    The film is based around Callum (Michael Fassbender) who has been sentenced to death for a suspected murder, but is rescued from execution by the Abstergo Foundation, which fakes his death, and transports him to their facility in Madrid, Spain. He is told that the Templars are searching for the Apple, which contains the genetic code for free will, in order to subjugate the human race. Sofia (Marion Cotillard), the head scientist, reveals that Callum is a descendant of Aguilar (a member of the Assassins Creed) and conscripts him to the Animus, which allows him to relive Aguilar’s genetic memories so that Abstergo can learn the current whereabouts of the Apple.

    This movie does have some very good points, so it is not a total failure by any means. One of the strongest reasons to see any movie with Michael Fassbender is to see the man himself, I have no doubt at all that he gives 100% in all his performances so you know he has done everything in his power to make sure the quality of any movie he appears in is at its best. That does not mean that every movie he has appeared in is great, this unfortunately applies to “Assassins Creed”.

    The plot of the film is fairly simple, it also follows many video game premises, that is to find an item and to do that there are many lessons that need to be learned as well as obstacles that need to be overcome. The narrative on the other hand is for me where the film fails to deliver, it becomes mired down in jargon as well as needless exposition from many of the supporting characters where the obvious is stated far too much.

    The action, particularly that takes pace in 15th century Spain is so good and cinematic that it almost makes up for the action set in the present. As I have said Fassbender is committed, this shows in all the fights that he takes part in – he has obviously trained for this film and it shows. There is nothing better than a director having the option not to cut away from an actor who can perform many of his own stunts, so it is a shock that sometimes it can be difficult to see Fassbender in this part of the movie. Where the action does fall down, is when the director cuts from Callum attached to the animus and him actually in the past. It appears that the filmmakers have spent so much time prepping the audience for how the time travel aspect of this film works (probably also spending too much of the budget on it as well) that the cutting between past and present is so jarring it is hard to appreciate either time period.

    The director, Justin Kurzel, who made an impression on Fassbender with his use of low budgets while delivering a great looking film on “Macbeth” (2015) flounders here a little with the expectations that are required from a film with a relatively large budget as well as a cast that can be considered to not only feature A list lead actors in Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Irons and Marion Cotillard, but also A list character actors in Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and Michael K. Williams. In effect what we have here is a film that is not greater than the sum of its parts, with no fault to anyone but just inexperience as well as possibly a story that has one thing going for it, but flounders after that.

    Of course the hope is that this will or would have led to a series of films that would have followed the warring Assassins against the evil Templars, however with the film only generating US$240 million worldwide as well as the fact that it made little or no impact in the US itself any talk of a sequel is probably dead.

    This is not a bad film, it does have some moments of terrific action as well as the cast being top notch. I can only guess what this movie could have felt and looked like in the hands of an experienced director who could take all of the disparate elements weaving them into something more entertaining. In saying that I do recommend watching this film but owning it would only be for those people who could re-watch it, unfortunately I am not one of those.

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

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

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

    “Moonlight” (2016)

    5stars_small

    Drama

    Time: 119 minutes

    Written & Directed by: Barry Jenkins

    Featuring: Mahershala Ali, Shariff Earp, Duan Sanderson, Janelle Monáe and Naomie Harris

    Juan: “I’ve been here a long time. Out of Cuba. A lot of black folks are Cuban. You wouldn’t know from being here now. I was a wild little shortie, man. Just like you. Running around with no shoes on, the moon was out. This one time, I run by this old… this old lady. I was running, howling. Kinda of a fool, boy. This old lady, she stopped me. She said…”

    Juan: [imitates old lady voice] “Running around, fishing in a boat of light”. “In moonlight, black boys look blue”. “You’re blue”. “That’s what I’m gonna call you: ‘Blue’.”

    Little: “Is your name ‘Blue’?”

    Juan: [laughs] “Nah.”

    Juan: “At some point, you gotta decide for yourself who you’re going to be. Can’t let nobody make that decision for you.”

    The newly crowned Best Picture winner at this years Oscars has not solved the Oscars ‘so white’ but it sure helps widen the debate, as well as once again showing that it is possible for an underdog to really have a rags to riches story. Even after the massive flub at the Oscars it was still amazing to see Barry Jenkins and his cohorts take the stage for their time in the sun – I only hope it doesn’t stop here. I did love “Moonlight” but I will still blow the horn for the absolutely revelatory Jeff Nicholls “Loving” (2016) which you should seek out immediately. “Moonlight” (2016) directed and co-written by Barry Jenkins, who had only directed one other film which no one had seen – although I suspect people will be searching YouTube for it now. This film will challenge you on many levels, is very much an old fashioned independent art film that has social meaning very much identifiable in todays world.

    “Moonlight” is a film that could be considered a characters piece and has a through line, but at he same time is made up of three distinctive chapters:

    Little

    Shy and withdrawn child Chiron (Alex Hibbert), dubbed “Little” for his meek personality and size, is chased into an abandoned motel by a pack of bullies. He is later found by Juan (Mahershala Ali), a crack dealer, who takes Chiron to the house in which he lives with his girlfriend, Teresa (Janelle Monáe). After being fed dinner and allowed to spend the night, Chiron begins to open up to them. The next morning, Juan delivers Chiron back to his controlling and emotionally abusive mother Paula (Naomie Harris), who grounds him for not returning home the previous day. Chiron and Juan continue spending more time together, the latter teaching Chiron how to swim while advising him to make his own path in life.

    Chiron

    Now a teenager, Chiron (now played by Ashton Sanders) is frequently bullied, harassed and openly threatened by one of his peers, Terrel (Patrick Decile), though continuing to remain close to Kevin (now played by Jharrel Jerome). Paula has since become addicted to crack, solicits herself, and physically coerces Chiron to give her money given to him by Teresa, with whom he continues to spend nights over, despite Juan now being deceased.

    Black

    Now a hardened and tougher adult, Chiron (now played by Trevante Rhodes), going by the name “Black” (a new nickname that had been previously given by Kevin as a teenager) is a drug dealer living outside Atlanta. Having moved up since running drugs after leaving juvie, he now leads a similar life to the one Juan led, living in a large house and driving the same car. He has trouble sleeping and receives frequent calls from Paula, asking him to visit.

    Once again I am not going to spoil this film – it really has to be experienced – and it looks fantastic on the big screen

    It can be hard to believe that a film directed with such purity, rawness and realness could be Barry Jenkins second film, it is such a step up from his previous film one could even be forgiven for thinking this is a film made after a long career – but it is not. “Moonlight” evokes such feelings of joy, sadness, empathy and humor that it truly is a film that does not come along every day – and the way in which we have three separate actors playing the same person over three distinct time periods means that we are (and the relevant actor) not focused on the differences but on the commonalities and the links between each chapter. There is a cause and very real effect from one element of the story to another – and one that is made easily accessible by the director, writer, editors and actors – it is truly a monumental feat.

    This is that special film that exceeds expectations unequivocally – there is no way you are able to walk out of this film without feeling something truly special has not been seen but witnessed – it does not trade on unearned emotion or fall down in relying on any archetype that it supposed to evoke feelings that haunt many of todays movies. In fact this story always moves the characters forward even when it is against their own personal safety or interests to do so – a prime example is Chiron’s mother, you just want to reach out and shake her to her senses.

    As with any great film the performances and direction become one and sync in a way that even the casual movie goer can recongnise something special is happening and in this case the cast, writer and director are all working from the same page – this is apparent in every scene and every word uttered.

    This film has a large cast, my own standouts and the three I see being the most revelatory are Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe and Naomie Harris who inhabit their roles even though they do not appear in the entirety of the film – but these are the ones that stand out. The obvious actors that hold our attention are the three that play Chiron (or Black or Little) – Trevante Rhodes, Alex Hibbert and Ashton Sanders – whilst each the central character are cast perfectly, it is not a huge leap to imagine these three people becoming each other as each highlights different aspects of that characters personality.

    This is a film that does not just rely on its actors as Barry Jenkins has an excellent eye and a technique that proves he is a very good director and one to watch out for the future. My favorite part of the film is the first chapter, to me  you can identify what he is doing with the camera – except for the opening scene that is full of on the nose dialogue, the camera remains quite still and we see the characters enter and leave frame which indicates their role in this chapter. Jenkins knows what he wants and he executes perfectly in a way that compliments the screenplay and the actors.

    This is an incredible film and at this point is my film of the year which is saying something, I believe it is superior to both “Loving” (2016) and “Fences” (2016) my other two films that I have rated highly. This is because “Moonlight” is contemporary and tells a story sorely lacking in films today – it is also more relevant in this post election period as it focuses on minorities, but also minorities within those same minorities. This film also asks questions about masculinity, love and what it means to hide one’s self every single day and the relief that comes from revealing the truth of that self.

    Out now on DVD & Blu-ray.