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pridge · 7 years ago

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A bit behind...but catching up!

So, I’ve been rather remiss with my writing recently for a ton of different reasons!! But mainly just didn’t get round to it….so here are a ton of reviews all in one go. Hopefully all spoiler free.

The Lego Batman Movie

So, I came into this off the back of loving the Lego Movie, and also as a huge comic book fan. Already, perhaps it is clear what direction this movie is going. I certainly didn’t hate the movie, I actually quite enjoyed it. But….and there was always a but coming….far too many of the good jokes were in the trailers, the characters just didn’t click for me the same way they did in the Lego Movie and whilst it was an enjoyable couple of hours I still felt disappointed.

I think this was more to do with my expectations, which were high. I just didn’t think this lived up to the warmth of character I got from the original Lego Movie, which had real heart. The Lego Batman Movie was trying to be too smart for its own good, and think it forgot to have any meaningful warmth. What warmth of character there was got quickly destroyed by some obvious humour.

This film had me smiling at the jokes, but rarely got close to making me actually laugh.

Dunkirk

Well. What can I say about this film that hasn’t been said already. For me this was a masterpiece.

The score and soundtrack matched perfectly with the pacing of the film, and the drama unfolding on the screen in front of me. The lack of dialogue added to the weight of the tension that built up throughout the film. Whilst I was, I admit, a bit confused by the three different acts going at different timescales, they all came together beautifully towards the end.

There were no outstanding performances from the cast, as they were not needed. They just had to go with the flow of the film. The action was mesmerizing. And often, the lack of action was even more engrossing.

Having watched it in 4DX….yes 4DX….the seats move, you get sprayed with water, there is wind in your hair….this is the first film that actually benefitted from it! Although have to admit I did feel rather sea sick at stages.

The cinematography is basic in a way, but the film benefits from that. They keep it simple so you can focus on the action and the drama that keeps exploding, literally, all around you.

If I did scoring I would give this film 10/10….I came away exhausted, emotional and enthralled by what I had just seen. There are a couple of moments that jarred with me a little, but that is only compared to the brilliance of the rest of the film. In most normal films this would have been just part of it.

Oh, and as a lover of history, the slight historical inaccuracies bug me….but I just have to bury that pedantic side of me quite deep.

Dr Strange

This couldn’t be more different to Dunkirk. The latest character to come out of the Marvel machine ready for the big climax of the current phase of the cinematic universe. I have to admit as well that the Dr Strange character is one of my favourite comic book characters. Benedict Cumberbatch for me was perfectly cast for the arrogant surgeon who ends up as earth’s Sorcerer Supreme. So if any of that put your teeth on edge….frankly I am not sure you are going to enjoy this film.

It is even more full of comic book nonsense (which I love) than the other Marvel films. A lot of it makes little or no sense, as you are taken through a special effects led tale, full of action and random made up hocus pocus.

I enjoyed it well enough. Although I felt some of it was a bit one dimensional. Once you’ve stepped over the line of sanity into total weirdness, why stop and then try and make any of it make sense!!

A distinctly average addition, sadly, to the current universe. But was great to see Dr Strange finally hit the big screen.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2

How do you follow the surprise hit of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The original Guardian’s film was a surprise hit, and brought a ton of new fans into the comic book world. The delightful mix of characters that make up the dysfunctional Guardian’s superhero team, where you are often not even sure what their superpowers are!

The film is full again of the nod and a wink humour, as well as some more childish humour.

Dave Bautista is great again playing one of the roles he was made to play – the basic but heartfelt – Drax.

Vin Diesel reprises his role as Groot, this time regrowing from a baby.

Chris Pratt also plays the long suffering leader of the group trying to keep them together in a manner reminiscent of a sitcom.

This film kicks off with a typically entertaining and musically supported entrance that sets a high bar for the movie. Which sadly it cannot quite live up to. There are some moments where it has some moments that border on genuinely moving, but they don’t quite fit with the overall tone of the movie.

It is an amusing, and at times very funny, movie. But like the soundtrack, the movie does not live up to the promise of the first one. Like many others, I came away having really enjoyed it, but I couldn’t point to much now that was outstanding about it.

Moonlight

So the Oscar winner that nearly wasn’t thanks to some drunk PwC staff….we’ve all been there right….night out….few drinks…make a bit of a scene…..nearly ruin the Oscars and break a ton of hearts…..ok….so just me. Alright then.

This movie was a great movie. It was made to win Oscars and awards. How could it not. It is beautifully shot. Deals with some genuinely extremely important issues in a tender and emotional manner. The cast act their hearts out in it. The 3 acts that make up the film chart some heart-wrenching moments and work well despite the distance in time between each of them as we follow the main protagonist.

I found it boring though. I didn’t want to. I wanted to be drawn in and love the film from start to finish. I just wasn’t. Maybe it was whatever mood I may have been in at the time. But it felt like a movie made for critics. Not a movie made to be watched and loved. I guess that is fine. It is just a shame that such a critically acclaimed film had me playing Clash Royal during in on my phone, and not pausing to get water from the fridge!!

You should still give it a try. It may work better for you. Just didn’t work for me.

Hell or High Water

Having seen Moonlight I decided to watch one of its Oscar competitors. This modern day retelling of a western, set in West Texas, was much more my thing. There, I said it off the bat.

It had the mix of anti-hero and hero – where the bad guys are clearly bad, but you also can’t help but root for them and want things to work out. The hero is….well….a bit obnoxious (played brilliantly by Jeff Bridges). This is essentially a bank heist western, with the sheriff chasing down the robbers across the desolate west Texan landscape. This ochre wasteland full of distant ranches, and populated by a rough and tumble background cast that seems so believable to an outside like me. They could be awful stereotypes for all I know!! But they work for this film. The dilapidated towns the story progresses through are the perfect backdrop to win your sympathy for the two main protagonists trying to make good, but in a bad and illegal way, before their time runs out.

This is a bit of a road trip movie, tinged with violence and a lot of non-PC discussion. It feels authentic and tragic. There are elements of a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid vibe at times. You can’t quite decide who you are rooting for, and this adds to the tension in what is a relatively short film, or at least feels it. As the pace throughout is great.

I really enjoyed this film. But I am a bit of a sucker for a good western….and whilst not part of the traditional genre, it takes a look at the characters you’d see in one through a modern day lens full of diners rather than saloons, cars rather than horses, and high powered rifles rather than pistols.

A sadly overlooked film by many. Full of surprising emotion and left me astounded I’d not heard more about this film.

Spiderman – Homecoming

He’s back. The web-slinger is back for this 3rd reboot!! Probably the most recognisable Marvel comic book character is finally working with Marvel again, and after the sneak peak in Civil War, now gets his own movie. Sony still own him, but they have decided not to butcher him quite so much and get some people who know what they are doing involved.

This movie has been talked about a lot, at least in the social media and media I tend to read….but I think this is fair to say is the most thought through of the Spidey movies so far. No more origin stories with poor old Uncle Ben getting shot, and “with great power comes great responsibility” – we get it alright!! When I get superpowers, I have to do good things. Ok Uncle Ben’s spirit I promise!!

Instead we get something subtly but significantly different. We get a movie that focuses much more on Peter Parker as a teenage boy struggling as a geek at high school, struggling with his new found powers, struggling to work out where he fits in. So basically a normal teenager, except the middle one!! I mean teenagers think they have new powers….like drinking cider at the park and wearing too much aftershave…but that doesn’t allow them to lift cars or do back-flips or walk on the ceiling.

By fitting it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well they manage to also fast-track the origin story of The Vulture, a little known Spiderman villain in the comics (little known outside of well….us geeks).

Tom Holland is excellent at Peter Parker/Spiderman (if that is a spoiler for you….then I’m sorry but everyone knows that!!), who hits the mark as a teenager. I’ve never been to an American High School, so I can only base this on my imagination and all the many films that are based in them. But this one rings true. He wants to fit in at high school. He wants to do more with the Avengers. He is busy fighting low level crime in New York at night. All a lot for a teenage boy. And I found myself really feeling for him.

Michael Keaton is excellent as the villain of the piece. He has an emotional resonance that is set-up very early on. His motivations for what he does are actually very understandable to most of us. It may be illegal, but he is sticking it to “the man” and doing right by his family. He is also a well balanced power vs Spiderman – no giant pillars of light in the sky here or alien invasions!! So it seems well balanced and a bit fresh. More in common with some of the Marvel and DC villains on Netflix and other streaming, than the main Marvel Universe. Plus, Michael Keaton can’t half act.

Robert Downey Jnr reprises his role as Iron Man yet again. As some sort of mentor for Peter Parker. This is the one part of the movie that bugged the hell out of me. Yes Tony Stark is meant to be a huge egotistical playboy….but here his instructions and advice really don’t work for me. He’s literally the worst mentor. Better they’d given him Loki that this occasionally disengaged failed father figure. Don’t get me wrong, they play it light with Iron Man to give Spiderman space to be the core of the film, and there are a few amusing lines. It just didn’t ring true throughout.

Overall though the balance between High School angst movie, bit of crime solving, a load of well done action, and your usual superhero stuff was hugely enjoyable. There were also a number of twists that I didn’t expect, and the supporting cast were great throughout and would like to see more of them.

Welcome back Spidey!!

Logan

Is this the last time we’ll see the very buff Hugh Jackman as Wolverine? It does seem like the last time we’ll see Patrick Stewart as Professor X…..so how did they do in their swansong?

Well firstly saw this in a nice little cinema, and also dragged my girlfriend along – and so was slightly nervous about her reaction to it.

I think it is fair to say that this was somewhat better than most other X-men related films. Maybe I just like dystopian future type films? This one perhaps isn’t so much dystopian as just all a bit of a mess. Logan, aka Wolverine, is in retirement and seemingly hiding. Just not clear from what. But he appears to have had enough of the world, and is now working as a limo driver whilst also strangely living over the border in Mexico…

This is another film that has touches of the old fashioned western about it, with the scenery of bleak deserts and run down townships, with a fair share of violence.

The interplay between Wolverine and Professor X is actually quite touching. But the outstanding performance sits with the young Dafne Keen as Laura. A young mutant who has been given powers very similar to Wolverine. He flipping between violence and frustration, and the way she brings such an adult performance, reflects brilliantly how you’d expect someone who’d been through what she’s been through to actually be.

At times the film is a bit predictable, and the X rating has enabled them to really let loose with Wolverine’s violence. The ending has genuine emotion, or did for me. Not a great film, but better than I expected!

As for what my girlfriend thought….she enjoyed it as well. But think it may be her choice next time! But that’s only fair.

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