The Vault : Ip Man 3 (2015) Surprisingly Poignant

Ip Man (2008) was the fantastically gritty drama that was based on the life of Yip Man, the legendary mentor of a little known action star, Bruce Lee! The film was well received for its wonderfully choreographed fights and the harsh depiction of life during the Japanese invasion of China. Donnie Yen, who was cast in the role as Ip Man, is now pretty much synonymous with the role!

Ip Man 3 (2015) is the latest chapter to the saga, following the sequel to the original in 2010, and looks to further add to the journey of Yip Man. This had a limited release over in the UK, so I managed to catch it on the big screen in the little time it was out!

The movie sees Yip Man as he moves into a less hectic role in life, away from all the Kung Fu and drama. He lives the quite life with his wife & child, while acting as a mentor and figure of responsibility to his community. This doesn’t last long, as his neighborhood starts to suffer badly from the acts of a brutal property developer Frank, who is working in cahoots with the local gangs to force the local people out. There’s also the small issue of a local rival, Cheung Tin-chi, attempting to usurp him as the best in Wing Chun, a problem he really could do without, but is forced to confront.

The main driving force behind the movie surprisingly is not to do with our evil property mogul (Mike Tyson!), or the rising upstart trying to move him out the scene, but his wife, who has been by his side since the first film. We are used to seeing Yip Man handle multiple thugs, soldiers, criminal lords etc. but this sees him deal with a totally different type of battle, one that really puts him through a challenge he can’t simply fight himself out off. It’s this that really makes the film stand out from what could have just been a run of the mill Kung Fu film.

That said, the fight scenes are as always, exhilarating. Mike Tyson brings a level of fear, and the intimidation to the table, but his role is clear in the movie, minimum talking, show the power, leave. Sure Ip Man 2 had a Boxing v Wing Chun showdown, but this fight just feels so much more savage, and Tyson’s sheer size and brute force does all the things it has to here. You have the usual Ip Man v several faceless thugs scene which combines humour and action, but another highlight is the superbly choreographed elevator fight with the hired Muay Thai muscle. It’s not just himself he has to protect, but his wife as well, which gives the fight a different dynamic.

The film does struggle a tad to balance out the multiple plot lines that are being told, as there are 3 separate arcs, and at just over 100 minutes, it didn’t really have the time to resolve them all fully. The film didn’t require two antagonists, it’s understandable why Tyson had little screen time, but maybe a cameo would have been better suited, as he is marketed as the main villain!

Ip Man 3 at times is a genuinely touching movie, and the scenes between Ip Man and his wife bring some sentiment not really seen since struggles of War in part 1. There’s also the usual verve and energy in the combat scenes you would expect in a film like this, and yes, you finally have an appearance from Bruce Lee! Most definitely worth a watch if you like your martial arts, as it is currently on Netflix UK!

August 10, 2017 0

Valerian, Got Style, Needed Substance

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planet is based off Valérian and Laureline, the long running French Sci-Fi comic series, that ran from 1967 to 2010. Director Luc Besson has been a fan of this franchise since his youth, and has long dreamed to bring the characters alive on the big screen. In a summer full of remakes and reboots, Valerian at least offers audiences something original. Will it be a breath of fresh air?

Valerian (Dane DeHaan) is a Major within the Alpha space station. An enormous structure which has built up exponentially, since its early years as the International Space Station. Alpha is now a sprawling galactic community containing thousands of alien races and over a million different languages. Valerian is tasked to keep the peace and well-being of the citizens, along with his partner Sergeant Laureline (Cara Delevinge). It’s soon revealed there is an imminent threat building up within the core of the colony and our heroes will need to find out what’s causing it & prevent the downfall off Alpha.

valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets-M-103_SG_073_JM_rgb — Cara Delevingne stars in VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS Photo courtesy of STX Films and Europacorp

It’s always a gamble using source material that the general public are unaware off. But Guardians of the Galaxy has proved if you do it right, it can work like a dream. Unfortunately, Valerian simply lacks any charm or charisma that made Guardians a huge hit. This is down to the two leads, who are vastly unlikable, nor do you really care about their journey. Neither DeHaan or Delavigne have the personality or gravitas to carry a franchise like this on their own. There is no real character growth, and their arcs are no cause for any interest. Considering the budget on this film, near $200m, the highest ever for a French movie, it’s a curious decision for the movie to cast these two to headline the film.

Off the bat in Guardians, the audience immediately adore Starlord following the opening credits! Here, even after 2 hours, you still don’t care! We never get any background into the heroes, how long were they in the force for? What about their backstory? How long have they been a couple for? Their romance is put front and center of the movie, when it should have been a secondary plot. Why should we care about their relationship, when we hardly know who they are! Both characters have pretty much equal screen time, so it is a curious decision to remove Laureline from the movie’s title.

While the leads may not be the most enthralling, Besson has created a visually stunning movie. It’s clear to see how much The Fifth Element, which he also directed, had an influence here! It’s obvious to see that he was a big fan of the comics, and he does his best to recreate the vibe of something he is a huge fan of. From the bustling metropolis of Alpha, to the paradise beaches of Planet Mul, the movie is overflowing with gorgeous visuals. The entire Pearl’s species were a nice distraction from the grim space urban jungle the rest of the film is set in. A lot of effort has been put in to make the comics come to life, and for that, praise has to go to the director. The scene involving Valerian breaking through walls and traversing several different landscapes of Alpha while in pursuit is a riveting scene. The movie has several concepts that could have been explored in more detail. Such as the alternate dimension that seems to exist, the vast collection of aliens and locations we could explore. But the film does not stray too far for its comfort zone. If there is a second film, they have so much to work with!

But we never see more of this fascinating world; instead we have to sit through a bickering couple and various side quests.

The film suffers from random detours, which seem to solely exist to add to the films runtime. If its not randomly chasing a psychic jellyfish. It’s having to obtain a disguise to break into enemy territory. (When being a government official should be enough!). Though this is how we meet the most interesting character by far, Bubbles, the shape shifter played by Rihanna! In 10 minutes, her character gives us more reason to care about her story than our leading duo. The movie dropped the ball by not giving that character more screen time, rather than a side character. Ethan Hawke also has a blast as the ridiculously extravagant owner of one of the strip clubs Valerian finds himself in. The villain of the piece is Commander Filitt (Clive Owen), his actions are made clear early on, so it’s no surprise when the film reveals his history. His isn’t a truly evil person, more someone who sticks strictly to his military code. His revelation is not as shocking as they could have made it, and the final reveal is very underwhelming.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planet is not a bad movie, if you love Sci-Fi, then you should consider giving this a watch. The film does offer something original, so you have to give it credit for that. That said, the film never reaches its full potential, with the miscast heroes, the lack of character development and a plot that drags on for way too long, it fades away into a generic but beautiful summer release.

August 8, 2017 0

[The Vault] Spooks : The Greater Good (2015)

For anyone not familiar with the series, Spooks was a wonderfully gritty espionage drama on the BBC, which ran from 2002 to 2011. The show was widely praised for its polished, sleek production, together with its shocking story lines. This was a show not afraid to display graphic violence, or kill off a main character. Things did taper off as the series reached it conclusion, but the shows peak in the earlier seasons are most definitely worth a watch online!

Spooks: The Greater Good takes place after the events of the show. Sir Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), the long standing head of counter terrorism at MI5, has to disappear off the grid. Following the failed attempt at transferring terror suspect Qasim (Elyes Gable,) over to the CIA. Harry suspects that it was an inside job at MI5, and relies on the assistance of Holloway (Kit Harington), a former MI5 agent, to find out the truth.

Although there are a few minor appearances from some of the cast from the show, The Greater Good focuses mainly on new allies and antagonists. Kit Harington is the main star of the film, but it feels like he was simply cast in this, to ride the wave of his tremendous popularity from his Game of Thrones work. He does a credible job, but he does not elude the aura of an action hero, well not yet anyway! Our villain never really feels like a threat, you don’t really see what he has done before, or why we should be afraid of him. He just does not feel intimating at all!

The plot is your standard ‘The Mole’ story line you have seen in many Spy movies from before. If you enjoy espionage movies, this has all the enjoyable troupes. Shady meetings in car parks, chases, interrogation and explosions! If you’re a fan of the show, you may admire the connection it has to the series, but if you have no idea what Spooks is, you’ll have a difficult time bothering to care about what’s going on!

It’s clear to see the budget for the movie was not huge, and the BBC sheen is obviously missing. The TV version felt so real, and raw. Here, it just feels like a generic movie. But it makes the most of what it can, and there are several famous locations in London that feature throughout. As some who live in London, it’s always nice to see places you recognize in a movie!

Harry is by far the most interesting part of the movie. He is a character who has been beaten by years of service, and having to suffer all the tough decisions he has had to make, and it’s nice to see him away from his desk & suit, and getting his hands well and truly dirty. The rest of the cast are not very memorable. David Harewood brings some gravitas to his role as Warrender, the head of the Joint Intelligence Committee, other than that, not much else to report!

Spooks: The Greater Good is in no way a bad movie, but it suffers from a bland storyline and simply just not feeling as real as the show. Though at just over 1:30, it’s a perfectly decent movie to watch if you got some time on hand, and like your espionage!

3 word review: For Fans Only

August 3, 2017 0

Caesar Reigns in Planet of The Apes

This summer has been pretty low-key in regards to well acclaimed blockbusters, can War for the Planet of the Apes (let’s just call it War from here on!) succeed where films such as The Mummy, Transformers & Baywatch stumbled?

War is the final chapter of the newly rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise, which started with Rise in 2011 and Dawn in 2014, both movies were well received by both fans and critics, so hopes were high for War.

The final chapter sees our main protagonist, Caesar (Andy Serkis) once again lead his colony of apes, as they look to escape to terrains new, and save his people (apes!) from the ruthless clutches of Colonel (Woody Harrelson). With the help of his close allies, Caesar puts it all on the line, to once and for all, put an end to the plight his colonyface.

War is an enthralling adventure, and it’s a movie you can enjoy as a standalone, without having much knowledge of the prior 2 movies. I haven’t had the chance to watch either Rise or Dawn, and did worry things may not make much sense! But the movie does a great job in dropping in details of prior movies without breaking the flow of the movie, there were reference to prior characters and events, but even as someone watching without knowing the lore, you can still piece it all together. Not seeing the other two will not affect your enjoyment in any huge way.

By far the most fantastic aspect of the movie is the motion capture, it is frankly stunning. This series has done wonders in giving actors in motion capture the recognition they deserve. Andy Serkis has been widely praised for his performances in the Apes movies, and rightly so. It cannot be easy to act in total green screen, while moving and acting in the ways an ape would. If you have the time, do go and look at the behind the scenes footage, to see how much work is put into motion capture! It’s also the sheer detail of the apes that is amazing. There are several close ups throughout the movie that flaunt how much attention to detail was put it, especially with Maurice. The snowy settings up in the mountains really do provide a gorgeous backdrop the the film. It really is a great to look at.

Caesar’s story arc is one of revenge, which seems him go on a mission to take down the sinister Colonel, but he is joined by a group of his closest allies. Maurice (Karin Konoval), the Orangutan, who is Caesars top adviser, and one of the more heart warming characters in a somber movie. Luca (Micael Adamthwaite) the Gorilla, and Rocket (Terry Notary) the Chimpanzee lend the muscle, as they also join our hero on his mission. Along the way, they meet a mute girl, Nova (Amiah Miller), who a reluctant Caesar brings along, due to the protestations of Maurice. They also meet Bad Ape (Steve Zahn), the token comic relief, and a runaway chimp who suffered after his time imprisoned at a Zoo. Bad Ape could have gone awry, but his fragile mentality was a good method to make him say what he does in these grim situations.

War is an emotional ride, as several characters meet their demise, and director Matt Reeves manages to make us care and feel the struggle of a group on non human characters, which alone could have been hard to do. While there are huge epic set pieces in the film, at it’s heart, it’s a sober tale of war and suffering. You believe any one of our characters could meet their end at any moment.

The plot is rather straightforward to follow, it’s nothing groundbreaking. But it’s the tone and execution of the film that makes it wonderful to watch. Be it the sheer panic of the battle scenes, the desperation of the prison camps or the grit shown by Caeser in the face of torture and oppression. The story weaves it all in one engrossing adventure. Be prepared to be reading loads of subtitles though, apart from Caesar, Bad Ape and the humans, the rest interact in their own language. So if you are not a fan of subtitles, you have been warned!

Woody Harrelson does fine as our antagonist, the film gives us a reason to hate him, and his treatment of the imprisoned apes are barbaric. But, he just feels slightly rushed through. His character did not appear in any prior movies, so feels pretty dispensable. Is this guy really the one who the 3 movies lead up to? You would think the final part of trilogy would have the long standing enemy at its core. Also, his grand plan really made no sense. Which was to build a frankly useless wall! Yes he was evil, but not really the smartest of villains, I would have preferred a far more calculating villain, to match the astute Caesar.

The running time of almost 2:30 hours is vastly inflated. The film could have been told in a much shorter amount of time, and you do feel like it is dragging on as the film approaches its finale.

War deserves all the plaudits it’s receiving, and it provides a suitable ending to the trilogy. You really root for our heroes to succeed, and want to rally behind them. You really grow to despise the Army, and that ticks all the boxes even at the very basic levels of story telling. The action and battle scenes are intense, and surprisingly violent! Combined with the gorgeous visuals , War is one of the films of this Summer! Apes Together Strong…….

July 23, 2017 0

Spidey Spins A Web of Laughs

One of the surprises in Captain America: Civil War last year was the addition of Spiderman in the superhero melee, following the character being lost in the corporate purgatory between Sony and Marvel. Fans were finally treated to seeing the webslinger make his long awaited debut in the MCU, and now, we have his first solo MCU outing, Spiderman: Homecoming.

Spiderman has seen several reincarnations within the last decade or so! So comparisons will be made, will it live up to the charming Sam Raimi trilogy (well first two anyway, the less said about 3!) or will Homecoming be more like the divisive Amazing reboots of the early 2010’s?

As the title suggests, Homecoming is set during high school, and the run up to homecoming dance (spoiler alert!). There is no origin story in this film, which is great, every Spidey fan knows about that, and it would be wasted time. We really don’t need to see Uncle Ben die for a third time! The film picks up pretty much right after his antics in Civil War (with his own personal videos from his travels to Germany!), we follow Peter Parker, as he gets to grasp with his entire new found suit and his social struggles at home & school.

Homecoming thankfully is another fine notch in the ever-growing MCU repertoire. Homecoming gives the audience a plucky young Peter to root for, supported by a mentoring Tony Stark (and Happy Hogan!), and for the first time in a long while, a villain which feels fleshed out and threatening. This makes a nice change from the villains who are bad because……….they are bad.

Tom Holland is excellent as Peter, as well as Tobey Maguire & Andrew Garfield were, they were both well into their 20s when playing the role. So it always felt a bit awkward seeing them play high schoolers. Holland is 21, so looks far more convincing as a young teen, and has the acting chops to pull it off too. The appearance of Ironman has been well publicized in this film, and Robert Downey Jr. is as always awesome in the scenes that he has. I was a bit worried beforehand that the film may have too much Ironman in it, taking away Spidey’s time to shine, but luckily it’s not overdone. The moments that he does appear, are pretty much already revealed in the trailers, which is a shame.

The real stars of the supporting cast are Ned (Jacob Batalon), Parker’s best friend, the enthusiastic best man, who is more than happy to just be involved with Spiderman and be ‘the guy in the chair’, and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), the long standing right hand man of Tony Stark (his been there since the very start!) who has to reluctantly be the chaperone of the eager Parker. Both are always a welcoming presence to any scene they are in.

Michael Keaton as The Vulture is superb as a character, you understand his motivations for his actions, and he isn’t simply a maniacal villain. He is conflicted by his actions, but well aware he has to do it for personal reasons. He also has wonderfully intense scene with Peter in the final act, which was great to watch! It also has a nice tie in to the events following Avengers Assemble.

The film is downright hilarious. Peter’s interactions with Ned & Happy always bring a few laughs. The fact the new Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) is attractive is mentioned on numerous occasions throughout the film. Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori), Peter’s rival at school, who was the type cast cocky jock, is now more of a smug rich kid. His smugness while annoying, works well at gaining sympathy for Parker, while also having a chuckle on both their behalves! Michelle (Zandaya), one of Peter’s reclusive and enigmatic classmates randomly pops up every now and again, to drop a sarcastic one liner, which could have been cheesy, but actually fits in rather well. There’s also an appearance from actor/rapper/funny guy Donald Glover, fans of his work will revel in his cameo! Peter also has some witty exchanges with his suits AI, who he names Karen. One of the jokes the film makes at itself is regarding what happens when there aren’t any high rises for Spidey to swing between? Well, he just has to run on foot!

The movie has it’s fair share of action set pieces. with the highlight being the ferry scene. This does though feel like a very poor imitation of the train scene in Spiderman 2, and just doesn’t feel as momentous. The scenes in the Washington Monument may be a little less chaotic, but feels far more fresh and original.

What did let the film down for me was the frankly generic final showdown. It becomes somewhat of a CGI mess, involving a chaotic battle outside a plane, then a flaming beach. It feels somewhat numbing and just too much is happening to really take it in properly. It doesn’t help the scenes take place at night! The main love interest Liz (Laura Harrier), is also particularly bland, her only characteristic is being one of the popular girls at school and a plot device. Another bugbear in the run up to this movie was the sheer amount of material released in the trailers and other clips in the run up. I was already aware of several key scenes. A franchise like Spiderman doesn’t need to release so much material to get the anticipation up, just a personal annoyance, but that’s more to do with the marketing and studios, and not the movie itself!

Homecoming spins a web of fun, and if you’re a fan of the hero, or just enjoy an enjoyable superhero film, will love the characters, cast and humour. Personally, I still believe Spiderman 2 is still the most best movie out of the collection, but Homecoming does a stellar job is reintroducing the character and getting him entwined in the Avengers saga! Though I still can’t forgive Marvel for that horrendous Homecoming poster with near every character thrown onto it!

July 13, 2017 0

”Transformers….Failure In Disguise!”

It’s been 10 years since the first Transformers movie came out. Although it wasn’t the perfect movie, it was a thoroughly entertaining summer blockbuster. Since then though, the franchise has become a parody of itself, regardless of how poorly each of the 3 subsequent movies were panned by critics and fans alike, for director Micheal Bay, it was a huge money maker, regardless of the stagnation. The Last Knight marks the 5th entry into the series, will it be more of the same Bay-isms….or something fresh?

The plot, is the same as usual, we have our human lead looking for a random object (cube of something, the orb of whatever etc.) which is key to saving the world. In this case, it’s our hero from Age of Extinction, Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) who has to retrieve the Staff of Merlin, otherwise it’s all over (until the next film).

To be honest, we all know what to expect in these films, but you would think they would learn from their errors after all this time. The Fast franchise knew this, and gave itself a reboot at 5, to reinvigorate the series. In a similar way, Ghost Protocol gave the Mission:Impossible franchise a breathe of fresh air. The trailers seemed like it may be going for a for ‘serious’ feel, but the movie reverts back to its comfort zone soon enough.

The trailers prominently featured Izabella (Isabella Moner), a young orphan who has survived the harsh realities of the ongoing conflicts and wars. She is a different kind of character to the usual, especially when it comes to the female leads, and could have had an interesting Father-Daughter relationship with Cade, who himself, is also suffering from the fact he had to lose all contact with his own daughter following AoE. Instead, she disappears for a vast portion of the film, and the film goes back to its usual attractive yet dull leads. Viviane Wembly (Laura Haddock), the Oxford educated possessor, plays a far more important role, though her character was barely featured in all the build up. Though her character actually has a far more important role than previous characters.

Speaking of disappearing acts, the main attraction, Optimus Prime barely features,. His arc follows Prime being brainwashed by our main villain, Quintessa, to do her dirty deeds and work for the enemy. Prime as always, is by far the best part of these movies, and to have him barely feature is just dire. Yes, Bumblebee is still doing his stuff, and working in a few scenes to set up his own future solo adventure. But at the end of the day, Bee simply lacks the awe of Optimus. Megatron is also barely featured, and when he does show up, he is more of a joke character now, rather than the equal of Prime.

One of the common thread of criticisms in the entire series is the constant focus on the human characters. Yes human characters are required, but they really should be the supporting cast, yet the entire middle chapter barely features any robot action,. Instead it tries to go into a overly complex, and frankly boring medieval history lessons on the background of the Cybertron with human history. The film simply tries to weave an unnecessary lore into all this, the entire ‘Last Knight’ plot is dull, and you just want it to jump to the finale, where all the fun happens!

There is also too much happening in this movie, you have Cade, Izabella, Megatron, Vivian, The TFR (Transformers Reaction Force) lead by returning Lennox (Josh Duhamel), Optimum Prime, The Autobots and even Simmons (John Tutturo) from previous movies, all having their own story lines to name a few! It seems like 5 different movies all happening at once, and the film has a tough time trying to blend it all together.

Well it’s not all bad news. The reason we watch Transformers is for the Autobots v Deceptions chaos, and the finale is utterly bonkers! The Dinobots also make a return, even Dragonstorm, a 3 headed dragon bot joins in on the madness! It’s all ridiculously over the top, and that’s what Transformers is all about. In a film that clocks up at 2 hour 30 minutes, it really should be more of this, and less of the humans! Sir Edmund Burton, played by Anthony Hopkins, the eccentric British aristocrat is a joy. It’s absolutely clear that Hopkins is simply here to have a bit of fun (along with the paycheck!), and his exaggerated performance matches a movie which is exactly that! His robot butler also has a few moments of laughter,

That’s about it though, as the majority of the movie is just frustrating. We have an submarine journey that really could have been cut out, the aspect ratio is all over the place, flicking between IMAX and widescreen throughout the movie, even changing during the same conversation! You also still have the same problems of previous movies, although they have been tones down a lot. Vivian is portrayed as a smart, intelligent women, but she is randomly put in a tight dress with heels out of nowhere, just so the film can have a dig at her dress. It makes no sense for her to even be in that outfit, considering the situation they were in, and its clear it was all added in because Bay could use a stripper joke. There’s also a random Suicide Squad like scene where we are introduced to random Decepeticons, why, no idea, but I supposed they saw Suicide Squad and thought, ”Yeah, that looks cool!!”.

Rumour has it that this will be the last movie directed by Micheal Bay, hopefully he can call it a day, and let someone else take over the reign, someone who actually enjoys making these movies, rather than using it simply as a cash cow!

June 24, 2017 0

The Mummy, Should Have Stay Buried

The Dark Universe, which is looking to rely on Universal Studios back catalogue of classical Horror icons such as Frankenstein, Dracula & The Phantom of The Opera to name a few. In order for this to succeed, it is crucial that the first instalment entices the audience for future releases! In this case, it’s the freshly rebooted The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella & Russell Crowe, which has been given the job of getting the franchise to hit the ground running.

So this time around, we have Nick Morton (Cruise), a US military officer who with his close friend Sergeant Chris Vail (Jake Johnson), use their military duties as a cover to ransack ancient temples in order to sell onto the black market. After one operation goes wrong in Iraq, they end up uncovering an Egyptian burial site, with the assistance of archaeologist Jennifer (Annabelle Wallace). Things quickly go downhill as they end up releasing vengeful soul of Princess Ahmanet (Boutella) into the modern world,

If it was the role of The Mummy to get the audiences enticed, than unfortunately, it’s failed spectacularly. What we end up with a story, which is all over the place, where The Mummy ends up playing somewhat of a support role! Universal Studios seemed way too keen to start setting up its future movies during the entire middle 3^rd of the film, with character reveals and plot details for the future. The film had a total of 6 different screenwriters that can explain the lack of cohesion in the plot. The Mummy opens pretty well, with the initial burial site discovery and the dramatic airplane crash scene, which featured prominently in the trailers, is by far the best scene in the entire movie.

Ahmanet is set up as a menacing foe, with the power to revive the dead and literally suck the life from anyone it touches. The plot for Ahmanet also seems very archaic, after the inspiring Wonder Women, here, Ahmanet’s main goal, to find her chosen one. We end up with the Mummy playing second fiddle as the film decides to explain the appearance of other characters, and loads of dialogue. It’s here where the film sadly loses its momentum. If it had continued the action packed opening half hour, we could have ended up with an entertaining ride, but the film screeches to a halt, and never really picks up again.

The cast are a mixed bag. Tom Cruise is of course box office, but his character here is arrogant and unlikable, which isn’t a bad thing, but his character arc never goes anywhere, and pretty much stays the same throughout. His action scenes of as always, great, so it’s a shame the film really didn’t have more action packed set pieces. Although Cruise is a huge name, even then, it feels like the movie is so focused on him, it feels like Tom Cruise ft. The Mummy!

Jennifer is pretty much just there to get into trouble, and be the love interest for Nick. The problem is, the two never show any kind of interest in one another, nor do you ever really care what happens between them. You barely see them have any meaningful dialogue, bar a few scenes. A very forgettable & bland persona. Boutella is by far the best of the bunch, following her captivating roles in Star Trek & Kingsman, she is proving to be a well accomplished star. Russel Crowe’s character is purely there for the sake of future movies, and really could have been cut out entirely, or be reduced to a post credit scene if needs must.

The film does try to include a lot of comedy, mainly with the interactions between Nick & Chris. These scenes don’t ever feel comfortable here, as this movie is much darker than the 1999 version. It really felt like a move to follow the banter that Marvel movies seem to revel in.

The scenes that show the full mercy of The Mummy across London, makes you expect an action packed finale across the London backdrop, but instead, it all concludes in a dark, underground cavern. Taking away the awe factor of what could have been a far more dramatic conclusion.

To sum it all up, The Mummy is simply boring. The sad thing is, the Egyptian lore and backstory has great material to work with, and if the film was solely about The Mummy v our hero for the entire runtime, that probably would have worked better. What we get is 3 stories attempting to be told at once, with The Mummy barely featuring in a turgid middle act, removing the most interesting part, in an effort to try and get us interested for what may come.

With big names like Johnny Depp & Javier Bardem already signed up for future Dark Universe movies, it is unlikely the franchise will be affected by the lukewarm reviews to The Mummy, but it has a lot of work to do in the run up to the next planned release in 2019, Bride of Frankenstein.

June 13, 2017 0

Wonder Woman Works Wonders!

It’s fair to say that the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has been disappointingly underwhelming so far. With their rivals Marvel seeming to roll off hit after hit, releases such as Suicide Squad, and more importantly, Dawn of Justice (DoJ) did not garner the attention they would have expected. While DoJ was frankly all over the place, one of the brightest sparks in the film was the introduction of Wonder Women, who now has her own solo outing. Can this be the vital turning point for the future of the DCEU? Or will it once again fail to deliver?

While Wonder Women shone in DoJ, we knew very little about the character herself, apart from being mighty handy with a sword! Wonder Women follows the journey of Diana of Themyscira AKA Diana Price (Gal Gadot) growing up and training on the paradise island of Themyscira. But trouble soon hits the island after Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), a pilot for the British army crashes nearby, drawing the attention of the pursuing German army to the island. Diana soon takes it upon herself to leave the island, and rid the world of war.

One of the most common criticisms of prior DC movies were the grim colour palette they adopted. The dark filters all over the movies did not give the films much soul, even Superman’s costume is a dark navy! But here, the film is gorgeous, the scenes especially on Themyscira are vivid and rich is colour. It may be a purely cosmetic aspect, but it makes the film just looks so much more appealing right away! Even Wonder Women’s armour in DoJ was a dull brown/bronze. Here, its back to the iconic blue & red!

But what about movie, does it stand up to the pleasing aesthetic’s of the film? It may have taken a long time, but it’s safe to say, that the DCEU finally has a bona fide smash hit! Patty Jenkins has managed to create a movie that manages to combine the charm of the comics with some exhilarating action set pieces. Female superhero movies do not have the best of track records. Catwomen (2004) & Elektra (2005) , the last two female heroes, were dire, and their effects probably explain the severe lack of movies with female heroes. Even Black Widow from Marvel still has no movie! WW does not fall into the same traps, and makes Diana look like a bigger threat to Superman than Batman!

You can probably describe the movie as a mash up of The First Avenger & Thor. With it’s setting during World War I and wartime London, along with the social fish out of water, who struggles to integrate into a new way of life! The film knows when it can afford to be funny, and not looked forced. Her interactions in London provide most of the comic relief, but the jokes work well. Whereas Suicide Squad underwent various cuts, to be more humorous to the audience!

By far, the best parts of the film are the combat scenes. When she isn’t walking alone into No Man’s Land during intense gunfire, she pretty much knees a soldier through a building! All the combat sequences are choreographed well, in such a way, it doesn’t look ridiculous on why her hand to hand combat works effectively against an army of armed soldiers! The film also makes good use of her other weapons in her armory, such as the Lasso of Truth, which let’s be honest, could have looked very cheesy if done wrong! The film does well to not mention her gender constantly on the battle field. The soldiers are more impressed with her sheer bravery and power than the fact it’s a women out there.

Gal Gadot’s casting as Diana is pretty much spot on, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see if this role is associated with her like Tony Stark & Robert Downey Jr. Chris Pine as Steve Trevor provides a great support character & love interest. But it never seems forced upon the audience, and Steve has a great character arc for himself. His charm brings a lot of likability to his character. His secretary, Etta Candy (Lucy Davies) may just be there for the humour, but she provides a jovial foil, to a movie that is about death and war.

It’s not all good news though, and where the film does fall flat is with the antagonists. General Ludendorff (Danny Huston) & Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya) never feel like a serious threat during the entire movie. You just know WW could probably knee them through a building without a seconds thought (yes, that kneeing someone through a building scene is amazing!). But the villains do introduce the element of Magic into the DCEU, which should play a large role down the road. Also, the final battle does seem to be a tad dull. It looks spectacular, but it just feels a bit rushed, just a head on fist fight, and its done. Also the accents are never consistent, some characters speak with a strong British#German accent, whiles others do not, just a slight knit pick!

That being said, it should not detract from this being one of the biggest hits of the year. It is a shame that this film didn’t come of before DoJ, as it would have made sense to have her solo outing before the ensemble performance. But the films splendid action, chemistry between our two leads, fantastic musical score and lore make Wonder Woman a great addition to the DCEU, and finally gives the big screen a strong powerful female superhero.

3 Word Review…..

About Time DC!

June 4, 2017 0

Sachin : A Billion Dreams

In a country of almost 1.3 billion people, it could be difficult to stand out from the crowd in India! But there is one name that captivates them all, Sachin Tendulkar. In a county that has is overflowing with A-List Bollywood stars, there is still one name that transcends even the glitz & glamour of the red carpet, and that is Sachin.

Sachin : A Billion Dreams is the biography of one of the most dominant cricketers to have ever played the game, and follows the story of The Little Master from his humble childhood to becoming one of the greatest of all time. In a similar vein to the majestic Senna (2010), the movie gives a fantastic insight into the career of the great man, along with personal footage from behind the scenes, such as his home videos or personal interviews.

The movie is essentially split into 2 formats, you have the ‘factual’ side of the movie, which uses archived footage and interviews to tell the story of what’s happening. These scenes, provide a fascinating look into what happened behind the scenes, and the little anecdotes that are told throughout, that you may not be aware off!. All of this is narrated by the master himself! Which adds a greater gravitas to the film and gives the film that extra charisma & charm, that could not have been done if it was narrated by someone else..

These scenes are supplemented by acts that are recreated by other actors, to show us moments from his childhood & teenage years. There is only a certain amount of footage that they can have access too! The flashbacks mainly focus of his pranksters years as a child and all the tough regimes he put himself through as he was growing up and balancing education with his obvious talent for cricket. These parts are used mainly as a transition between scenes, and do not go on for too long. They do also manage to incorporate plenty of laughs with these sections, which was a nice bonus!

There are several famous cricketers from the past and present also appear to give their tributes to Tendulkar. MS Dhoni, Sehwag, Virat Kohli & Shane Warne are just a few who take time out to give their views on playing with and against Tendulkar. You also have Bollywood royalty, Amitabh Bachchan & Aamir Khan dropping in a few words here to mention their praises! Just to show how broad Tendulkar’s influence was! I wasn’t the biggest fan of cricket back in the 90s, nor can I remember much of what happened back then. So this was a great chance for me to see why he was so dominant during that time, and what made Tendulkar stand in a league of his own.

The film also documents the rise of cricket into the global force it is now, how the sport rose from the ashes of all the match fixing allegations in the late 90’s, to becoming the powerhouse it is now, with the IPL being the pioneers of its charge. Tendulkar played a pivotal role in convincing all the disillusioned fans to give the game another chance, if cricket lost India, than the sport may not have recovered.

As with any documentary/biopic, your enjoyment of this will be purely down to if you have any interest in the focus of the feature. If you love cricket, than this will entertain you through the somewhat dragging 2:20 run time! Following his journey from a teenage sensation debuting in a daunting away match in Pakistan, to the World Cup triumph on home soil in 2011. It seems fitting for the film to hit its crescendo with victory at his last chance at the big one! Even though I’m not Indian, watching it as a sports fan, the film absolutely captures what Sachin means to the nation, and the passion they have for the game.

Although some parts of the film are in Hindi (which are subtitled!) , the majority of the film is in English, so that shouldn’t put off anyone not from India to give it a go! Some parts of the movie may feel unnecessary, adding to an already bloated run time, but I suppose it must be an arduous job to fit the life story of someone who has achieved so much into one feature length movie, so I’m willing to cut it some slack in that regards!

Also, the film is scored by the legendary A. R. Rahman, so what’s not to love?!

The film may be on a limited release over here in the UK, but with the ICC Champions Trophy starting in a few days, Sachin : A Billion Dreams is well worth the time for any fan of not just Tendulkar, but the game itself!

May 28, 2017 0

The Red Turtle, Silence is Golden

The Red Turtle comes with the pressure of having the name Studio Ghibli attached to its production, even if it’s only as a co-producer (Wild Bunch, being the other half). Director, Michaël Dudok de Wit, had the daunting task of working on a film that would validate the faith put on him to lead this motion picture.

Luckily I had the opportunity to watch a screening of The Red Turtle at the glamorous May Fair Hotel in London, a comfortable setting for a very charming movie.

The most striking aspect of The Red Turtle is that the entire film has virtually no dialogue, barring some shouting or crying. The story is beautifully told simply via the animation and the musical score. So if that doesn’t sound appealing, than this film is not for you! The animation is also very European, so do not expect the usual Studio Ghibli presentation, even though their name is tagged on. This doesn’t mean that the animation is any less stunning. Considering the lack of any speech, it is critical that the visual aspect of the movie is on point, something that excels here. The island produces some gorgeous visuals, such as the bamboo groves frequently visited here! De Wit does a fantastic job in storytelling, in such a minimalistic method.

So the story revolves around a nameless man, who is left stranded on a island following a shipwreck. After discovering that he is the solitary human on this tropical island, he survives on fresh fruit and water from the lake. But the constant loneliness drives our man to plan an escape, using the endless supply of bamboo at his disposal. His efforts are in vain, as his escapes are always wrecked by a wild red turtle. Without disclosing the entire plot, the movie follows the interaction between the man, and the turtle, and their interactions.

What we have a is wonderfully simplistic movie, which manages to go into some surprising meaningful topics, the fact it is all done in visuals makes the movie even more enjoyable. The Oscar nomination it received for Best Animation was most certainly deserved. The movie even manages to fit in some humour, using the crabs living on the island, which form a bond with the man, to great comic use!

Some may not enjoy the movie though, as the story line does drift off into a more fairy-tale like territory, after a more realistic opening third act. Also, the films locations do get repeated, a lot! It’s clear to see their production value was not huge, as we frequently go back to the bamboo grove, lake and beach a lot. This does not diminish the story, though it may fatigue some viewers in that regards.

If you’re a fan of prior Ghibli movies, and the themes they follow, than the The Red Turtle is another stellar addition to their portfolio. If you simply enjoy animation, and storytelling, The Red Turtle also delivers on that front. Although it’s on a very limited release, if you do happen to stumble across it somewhere, do take the time out to see it!

May 23, 2017 1

Covenant, Lacks Any Fear

The 6th instalment of the iconic Alien franchise has landed in cinemas, Alien: Covenant. Picking up following the developments from 2012’s Prometheus, is Covenant a throwback to the original horror, or a follow on from the lore heavy Prometheus.

Covenant, is the story of the Covenant, a vessel travelling to a far flung planet, its mission, to find an alternate planet for colonisation. Each ship is overlooked by an android assistant, while the human crew are in deep sleep. The android maintaining the Covenant is Walter (Fassbender), but due to an emergency, the crew are forced to wake up. Following the loss of a fellow crew member, and with the reluctance to get back inside the pods, our team decide to respond to a distress call, from another potential viable planet for life, which is far more closer to get to then the remaining 7 years left to reach their original destination.

Upon landing on the new planet, things inevitable unravel and the blood starts flowing! You don’t really need to watch Prometheus to enjoy Covenant; the movie does refer back to the prequel, and does a good job in doing enough explanation to not leave anyone who hasn’t watched Prometheus, totally out of the loop.

Director Ridley Scott has been accuse of losing his magic in recent times, but The Martian showed that he still has the ability to deliver great work. Covanent follows that up with another strong showing here. By far the best aspect of the movie is the performance of Fassbender, who performs a dual role here. As already mentioned, he plays Walter, on board the Covenant, and also David, the older version of himself that was abroad the previous Prometheus mission. There are several scenes which involve both characters on screen at the same time, and he pulls it off with great intensity. He also plays the role of a synthetic being well enough to not sound completely wooden, which is a trap many who play robots fall into.

The human crew on-board though, are a very mixed bag, and a majority of them come off as pretty unlikable. Katherine Waterston is Daniels AKA New Ripley, but she simply doesn’t have the presence to play a role such as this, she looks lost and confused for large parts of the movie, and being the supposed lead human, is overshadowed by Fassbender’s presence. The captain of the crew, Oram (Billy Crudup) is written to be somewhat antagonistic, and his traits are very dis-likeable, not even allowing his crew to mourn the loss of a colleague! It was strange to make him somewhat of a secondary antagonist, as the aliens are enough of a threat as it is. Everyone else of the team is largely bland or unremarkable, and make several stupid decisions throughout the film! The only real endearing figure is Tennessee (Danny McBride) as the pilot of the Covenant, surprising, as McBride isn’t usually known for these kind of roles!

It’s down on the planet where the film really shines though, the opening 3rd seems to drag on for a long time, before we get into the nitty gritty, the Aliens! One thing to understand, is as this is a prequel to the original, this is the story of how the fiends known as the Xenomorphs came into existence, so the threats don’t look like what you expect them too! The film does not hold back on the violence and blood! It’s not just the chest the aliens surprise us from, and some of the deaths our crew suffer are pretty graphic. It may be slightly over the top, but it also empathises how destructive these creatures are. One of the criticisms of Prometheus was that it was very dialogue heavy, and didn’t have enough Xenomorph action, fair enough; as they are the main reason we go to watch these movies! Having watched Prometheus may help you enjoy the film more, but not watching it won’t ruin the experience. The alien saga is explained with careful detail, and it does get us curious in seeing where the next movie goes with all the revelations unearthed here.

The film though does lack the feel of the originals, there isn’t that build up that tension, that feeling of being alone and trapped. The film is very linear in that regards. It is very obvious which character will bite the dust, and the twist reveal at the end is so, so predictable, that it disappointed me they actually went ahead at did it! Also, the trailer pretty much revealed all the set pieces, a damaging habit most trailers seem to fall into nowadays. . It’s a shame that the movie just isn’t as scary as it could have been, as it’s all so telegraphed in its story. Yes some of the scenes can be rather brutal, but is it scary? Not really.

Covenant is no way a bad movie, if you’re a fan of the Alien franchise, or Sci-Fi is generally, it’s an entertaining ride, which gives more plot into how the Xenomorphs came to be, and has the usual Alien tropes. On the other hand there’s isn’t anything new and original to shout about. The film does have some homage to the original movies, but it very much feels like a part of the new trilogy, and not the old.

May 17, 2017 0

We’re on iTunes!

Things are steaming ahead now with new material to our site! Following the addition of our Podcasts to the network, we are happy to say we are now on iTunes as well!! So make sure to subscribe and listen in during your commute, or when you are bored at work 😛

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/thesilverscreenshow/id1229510862

May 15, 2017 0