Monday, 28 August 2017
32. England is Mine
I am a Smiths fan, and I find Morrissey intriguing to say the least, so I was excited to see the film once I had seen the trailer. I also was excited when I saw that Jack Lowden (see previous blog entry) was playing Morrissey, however I much prefer Lowden as a pilot than as a young Moz. I also made the mistake where I watched an interview with him talking about the film, claiming to like The Smiths but proceeding to know nothing about them. They've got that song about that light that never goes out yeah? Anyway, in the interview apparently Lowden was told to only research certain Smiths/Morrissey information, which I appreciate would help him play the part, but I didn't understand why he was told not to read Morrissey's autobiography. Surely reading that would help see both sides of the picture, painted by both the media and the man himself.
I did enjoy the film, and watching in a Manchester cinema I think was also a good experience. There were local jokes, and actually, the film was really rather funny. If you haven't guessed already, the film is the story of Morrissey before The Smiths. It's the story of his early life, his family, his friendships. It's endearing and awkward, and some characters are hilariously witty. It's an easy watch, with the golden time ticket of 1hr 30mins, and if you are interested in the genre and Manchester movement, you will probably enjoy it.
I do think the demographic for the film is quite slim, lots of people hate Moz, or find him arrogant/cocky/depressing. I find him a really interesting, and though I don't appreciate everything he says or does, I definitely have respect for him, and though the film was a good insight to his early life, depending on how truthful it is.
Overall, the film was surprisingly funny, but it won't be to everyone's taste. The ending was really predictable, and I feel like if you've seen Nowhere Boy, the film about John Lennon's early life, you probably won't be surprised in the slightest. For that I give England is Mine a respectable 7/10
Thursday, 3 August 2017
31. Dunkirk
The film encapsulates the evacuation of Dunkirk (it sounds Scottish but turns out it's in France) from 3 different view points- land, sea and air. On the beach we follow Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) and his mute mate as they try to battle through the troops to grab a spot on a boat nipping back to England. Amongst setbacks and breakthroughs, they find Harry Styles, and we finally discover the real reason why he cut his hair off all those months ago. On water, Mr Dawson (Mark Rylance) is giving the Navy a hand by travelling across to Dunkirk on his private boat with his son and son's friend, in order to help bring some troops back. From the skies, we follow Farrier (Hardy) and Collins (Lowden) as they support troops on air attack on the bomb dropping enemies, fighting against limited fuel. To add to the interest of the plot, we follow the story from 3 different time perspectives; a week on land, a day on a boat, and just an hour in the air. These time frames cleverly match up as we reach the climax of the film.
The film also really followed the British way of life, and anytime a soldier had any kind of break or respite, they were offered a brew. 'Don't worry love go down there there's tea!' 'Go down stairs and grab yourself a brew and a blanket'. A sentiment I can wholly get on board with.
As you can see by the fact I am using proper bulky paragraphs, and not twiddly sentences, I was really encapsulated by the plot and it really held my interest, especially as we switched between the 3 plots. The script was very small, with very little dialogue, but it wasn't needed. The story told itself between the fabulous acting, the tension, the music, the sound effects and the cinematography. I could go on. The cast itself is full of well known, credible actors (Rylance, Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy) and some new faces, but the acting was incredible, and the whole thing was casted really well. I thought Styles would be in it for promotion reasons, or just because he's Harry Styles and he can do what he wants. Apparently he was cast out of 1000s of hopefuls and Christopher Nolan had no idea who he was (everyone knows who Harry Styles is???).
To add to that point, everyone had great cheekbones. Really lovely ones. It was a sight to see. I reckon someone in the makeup department must have had an eye out with all those sharp and edgy faces. However, my one disappointment was Tom Hardy. Almost the entire film he spent hiding behind his Bane mask, until the final scenes. What a tease, and what a waste of an excellent face. Spoiler alert but you essentially have to wait until the end of the movie for him to unmask and reveal his chiselled by angels face.
Overall, I very clearly loved the film. Full of non-stop action and emotion, not bulked out with meaningless romance, or sexism, or silly humour. Get yourself to the pictures to watch it, where you can really find yourself in the film, with the loud effects and great quality screen. It's my must watch of the summer!!! My only gripe being that Tom Hardy's face needed to be in it more, it's a 9.5/10 from me. Go and watch as soon as you can.
Tuesday, 1 August 2017
30. War for the Planet of the Apes
From what I can gather, something happened involving a virus or something, and apes started to evolve to become more human-like. This caused distress to humankind, who then found themselves at war with these new badass monkeys.
Originally I thought us humans would be the goodies (because I, a human, am a number one goodie), however, it soon becomes clear it may not be as simple as that. The film follows Caeser's (Ape leader and also Andy Serkis) epic journey to regain justice after his family were brutally attacked.
I surprised myself by becoming really immersed in the film, as I really didn't think it was my thing. I was pulled in by the political values and emotive stories told by the apes. The CGI and voice acting was incredible, as you really start to have empathy for the monkey tribe, despite them not all being verbal. Alongside this, there was exciting and interesting action scenes, gripping from the beginning, to the end.
Unfortunately, because I crave for a realistic film (Where my docu-films at???), I kept transporting myself back to the outskirts of Manchester, realising I was watching several apes riding horses, and there were moments where I found it hard to contain myself. This was also not helped at all, by the film trying to add an element of humour. 'Bad Ape' (Steve Zahn) wears a hat and bodywarmer combo and joins us for the lols halfway through the movie speaking broken English to lighten the mood. In this case I found it just distracted away from the storyline, as oppose to enhancing it.
Another point I did enjoy, was the gorgeous cinematography. There are some amazing shots of Canada, almost rivalling the beauty of 2015's 'The Revenant'. I was half expecting an ape to cut open a horse and sleep in it.
Overall, War for the Planet of the Apes was a pleasant surprise for me, providing a great story, and one that made some great, relevant points. Despite this, there still were some faults to the film, and for that reason, I will give it a respectable 7.5/10
Saturday, 22 July 2017
29. Transformers: The Last Knight
Anyway, I remember when Transformers came out, and I remember seeing it at the cinema, and loving it. But I never saw any of the film's follow ups, and I've never really been that interested in watching them. I was intrigued to see if I'd enjoy it, or, 10 years on from the original, it wasn't my type of thing anymore. Let's face it, I'm probably not the part of the demographic it's aimed at.
The film starts by giving a history, and taking us back to the Dark Ages, where Transformers answered Merlin's call for help in an epic battle. Merlin was provided with a very powerful staff, which can only be controlled by certain people.
Then we come back to the modern day, where Transformers and humans are at war. Transformers are in hiding, in what seems like an area 51 type get up. Few humans believe that humans should work with, and not against the Transformers, including Cade (Mark Wahlberg) and Izabella (Isabela Moner). They play the part trying to resolve the conflict, but taking the Transformers side, you can probably guess how the plot pans out from here.
Viviane (Laura Haddock) ties the past to the present as a professor of history, who explains the myths and legends of the Dark Ages in her job at a museum, but also dispels them as untrue, and made up. Viviane gets caught up in the war, and soon realises there may be truth behind the myths.
I find the concept for the film quite interesting, and I like the historical element; using fascinating myths and legends and amending them to fit the films reality. I think using a technique like that can make the movie quite immersive.
However, the plot and the story itself complicates itself. There was too much crammed into over 2 hours, when a simpler plot, and 45 minutes less, could have produced a better result. I thought at one point it was coming to the climax, and yet 20 minutes later we were into another big epic scene and there was still more to come.
Because of all these twists and turns, you may think it's exciting, but for me, I found it made it less memorable. What was the big scene? What was the main bit? Because there was so much action, it made me feel like I didn't know which bits were crucial, or which bits were meant to tell a story.
Overall, this is something you could definitely give a miss. 10 years on from the first film, is it still relevant? Did we need a fifth film? I guess if you're a die hard Transformers fan, you'll still like it, and enjoy the historical element, but from anyone else, you're not missing out. I'll give it 4/10, I have seen worse films, but perhaps not that many.
Saturday, 15 July 2017
28. Despicable Me 3
The antagonist in this film is Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker), who previously was a child star, starring in his own show 'Evil Bratt' where he did just that. Upon the TV show's cancellation he took on the character, and is aiming for world domination. Clearly it is up to Gru to sort this out!
We discover that Gru has a twin brother, Dru, who is quite the opposite to Gru- cheery, charming and full of beans. After the initial annoyance, Gru and Dru team up to take on Bratt.
Amongst story lines about catching unicorns, a high speed car chase, and an island full of pigs, Despicable Me 3 holds the attention of the audience, whichever generation they sit in. The thing about these films is that they really work for those of any age, without alienating anyone.
Unfortunately, with 2 other films and a spin off behind it, Despicable Me 3 is not the greatest in the series, and it is more than likely the worst. The plot wasn't the most memorable, but it was rather predictable, and to be honest, there simply wasn't enough Minion action for my liking. The best bit of the film by far was a Minion pretending to be an air hostess, welcoming his peers onto the plane 'Bello, Bello, Bel-lo, Belllllo....' had us in stitches for ages.
If you have kids or nieces or nephews or what have you, I'd definitley consider taking them to watch the film, especially with the holidays coming up. You will end up giggling as well as them, and it is genuinely not a bad film choice. If you are watching it as a true Despicable Me fan, it is still worth a watch, but don't be expecting miracles. I can only give Despicable Me 3 6.5/10 for trying!
Thursday, 29 June 2017
27. Baby Driver
Baby Driver came out yesterday, and we had the pleasure of seeing it on it's opening night. I hadn't seen much advertising for the film (but I do spend the trailers at the pictures on Buzzfeed wondering what flavour crisps I am, instead of paying attention.) We checked out the rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it had 100% so we were well in. Obviously as the film has only just been released, it's not the biggest achievement to have 100%, but it's still a pretty good indication that the film is going to be a good one.
The starting credits are rolling, and the first scene is really interesting and creative. It's a contemporary dance sequence, where the lyrics are hidden in the scenery of the shot. I thought it was really innovative and new, nothing like anything I have seen before, and it grabbed my attention. From there we are right into a car chase. Again the chase was fast, but interesting, it had action, but also twists and turns in it's plot, not just a car chase.
Baby Driver follows Baby, a getaway driver (duh) for armed robberies and such. Baby (Ansel Elgort) has a passion for music, and uses it to aide him in his driving, a job that a big mistake landed him in, years ago. We follow him as he meets a girl (Lily James) and tries to ditch his life of crime, to no avail.
Baby Driver is sort of a cross between Drive, and Ocean's Eleven. I was worried that it would just be a carbon copy of Drive (I urge you to watch this if you haven't already), but it has it's differences. There's a different backstory, and different characters, as well as Baby's involvement in the heists, and his interaction with others. It also is a humorous film, with real laughs in places. The comedy element was done well, as it enhanced the plot, as opposed to turning it into a slapstick movie. There is also the cleverness of how the jobs are pulled off, or not, similar to Ocean's Eleven. Again, I think it was different enough to make it stand out.
The action scenes in the film were brutal, and violent, but these scenes are included, again, to enhance the plot, and not for the shock factor. I really enjoyed the action, and it definitely wasn't boring. The film is 2hrs long (you know how I feel about this) and yet I wasn't clock watching, I was interested to see what was next. However, I did, last night, have a dream of massacring a load of people and then jumping off a cliff, so I guess if you are of a nervous disposition it could haunt you for weeks!
The soundtrack to the film was also really well done. There were so many classics from so many genres, and it was just really interesting to see how they worked with the film. As a music lover I especially appreciated this. If the soundtrack is released I definitely want it for my car!
Overall, I'm going to give Baby Driver an 8.5/10. I really want to give it a 9, and I really do recommend you going to see it, but I can see a lot of similarities drawn from other films. The first two scenes of the film are by far the most original, and the most interesting and creative, but when we get towards the end, some of the scenes don't match up to this. Don't get me wrong, they are full of action and work well with the plot, but I was just so in awe at the opening titles and how it was so imaginative, I can't help but think that the middle and end can't quite match it. Please go and see it and let me know what you think!
Saturday, 24 June 2017
26. Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman follows Diana, Princess of the Amazons (Gal Gadot), as she goes through her warrior training, something her mother has prevented her from doing for so long, to protect the tribe and paradise-like island from the imminent return of Ares, God of War. After a dramatic family incident, Diana flees to a cliff edge to do some wistful staring into the distance, and as she does so, World War I spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) enters the realm. He is fleeing the Germans, who realised he was undercover, and Diana saves him, coming across a man for the first time. From here, Diana realises it is her duty to stop the war happening across the world, and to destroy Ares. Much to her mother's dismay, Diana pops across to England, battles in trenches and finds her self right in the centre of the action.
I really enjoyed the film and found it really balanced. There was intense action, the training and battle scenes were exciting and interesting. Lucy Davis was fabulous as Etta, a great comedy character adding another angle to the film. I also really enjoyed the political angle on the film; discussions about war, politics and evil. Is war down to one person? Is evil just one person? Questions about deindividuation. There were many parallels to our own history which I thought added depth to the film. I really do wish it was a badass lass that sorted us all out, and again I think this film worked really well from a feminist point of view.
There were also a few twists and turns, keeping the film interesting, and I think there were surprises and unexpected moments to keep you on your toes. As well as this, the cinematography was great. The island of Themyscira was truly beautiful, and the contrast between the foggy industrial London and the dingy trenches made it enchanting to watch.
Overall, for the first time in quite a few films, I'd really recommend giving this a watch. Exciting, interesting, political, and with a female lead who shows the lads how it's done, you just can't knock it. I'm giving Wonder Woman a solid 8.5/10!