Films round-up
Deadpool - Hey, look everyone! Marvel goes 15-rated and sends itself up! Most people seemed to love this a lot more than I did. It was anarchic fun, the opening credits in particular were inspired and I did enjoy it as very shallow entertainment, but it was lacking. Okay, I wasn't expecting Citizen Kane, but it should have been better. The problem is that Deadpool as a character is a complete arse. I get that he's an anti-hero, but he shouldn't be so utterly unlikeable. Or at least, we should really hate the people he's being a complete arse to. If only every other character in the film wasn't entirely one-dimensional, it might have worked.
The Mermaid - More madness from Stephen Chow. There's almost no martial arts this time, but otherwise it's still the same blend of hapless romance and cartoonish physical comedy you'd expect. This time with mermaid eco-warriors out to defend their habitat from ruthless developers. It's very funny and very, very silly. It doesn't reach the dizzy heights of Kung Fu Hustle, but it's still a good laugh.
London Has Fallen - Obviously this is complete garbage, but it doesn't aspire to be anything more than a trashy B-movie and works well for its genre. World leaders are gathered in London when they are targeted by a massive terrorist attack. Naturally the only one we really care about is US President Aaron Eckhart, so most of the film is devoted to an elaborate chase as he and bodyguard Gerard Butler try to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, track down the bad guys and save the day. Surprisingly little of London gets trashed in the process, but this still might be slightly uncomfortable viewing in light of recent events.
Hail, Caesar! - The Coen brothers' latest is an affectionate tribute to 1950s Hollywood, packed with scandals, kidnapping, George Clooney dressed as a Roman, a Soviet plot, two Tilda Swintons, and a not-at-all-homoerotic-honest musical number about life as a sailor. As you might expect from the Coens, it's an odd film. Every individual scene is a hoot, but it feels like a series of individual sketches and doesn't hang together particularly well as a coherent story. I enjoyed it while watching it, but when it got to the end I thought, "Oh, is that it?" One for hardcore Coen devotees only.
Kung Fu Panda 3 - Po goes in search of a family and learns the power of chi, so he can battle an ancient enemy returned from another dimension. This is a rather pointless sequel in a series which ran out of "awesomeness" a while back and now mostly resembles a video game. Dustin Hoffman's Shifu lifts the film slightly with his dry sense of humour, but it's not enough to make it worth watching.
Eddie the Eagle - A real feel-good film, and possibly my favourite of the year so far. Large amounts of it are made up, but What could be more English than celebrating eccentricity and backing the underdog? Taron Egerton nabages to be funny and serious at the same time in his protrayal of Eddie's determination to follow his dream. There's a stonking supporting cast including (a weirdly American) Hugh Jackman, Tim McInnery, Jim Broadbent and a cameo from Christopher Walken. The message is quite simple - it's not the winning; it's how you take part, but you've never seen it demonstrated so well. Definitely recommended. I had a big, cheesy grin on my face almost all the way through. :o)
High Rise - Adapted from a JG Ballard novel of the same name, this is a dystopian tale set in a tower block in which the floor you live on determines your social status. Over the course of three months the society designed by deranged architect Jeremy Irons (Where has he been for the last 15 years?) breaks down and anarchy begins to rule, triggered by nothing more than human nature. While it's not always clear what's going on, this is a powerful tale of class warfare and social engineering gone haywire. There are lots of deep, important reasons to see it, although I'm sure some of you will see it only because I drop the words "naked Tom Hiddleston". ;o)
The VVitch - Although this might look like a trashy horror movie from the publicity, it's actually a very old-fashioned story. There's very little effects or "jump" moments, no obvious monster and even a lot of the dialogue is lifted from the 17th century folk tales on which it's based. We follow the lives of a lone family trying to scrape a living in New England, when mysterious and tragic events strike them. It seems there is an evil presence in their midst, but who or what is behind it all? Is one of them a witch? It's not entirely successful as a film, but it certainly draws you in and creeps you out.
The Mermaid - More madness from Stephen Chow. There's almost no martial arts this time, but otherwise it's still the same blend of hapless romance and cartoonish physical comedy you'd expect. This time with mermaid eco-warriors out to defend their habitat from ruthless developers. It's very funny and very, very silly. It doesn't reach the dizzy heights of Kung Fu Hustle, but it's still a good laugh.
London Has Fallen - Obviously this is complete garbage, but it doesn't aspire to be anything more than a trashy B-movie and works well for its genre. World leaders are gathered in London when they are targeted by a massive terrorist attack. Naturally the only one we really care about is US President Aaron Eckhart, so most of the film is devoted to an elaborate chase as he and bodyguard Gerard Butler try to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, track down the bad guys and save the day. Surprisingly little of London gets trashed in the process, but this still might be slightly uncomfortable viewing in light of recent events.
Hail, Caesar! - The Coen brothers' latest is an affectionate tribute to 1950s Hollywood, packed with scandals, kidnapping, George Clooney dressed as a Roman, a Soviet plot, two Tilda Swintons, and a not-at-all-homoerotic-honest musical number about life as a sailor. As you might expect from the Coens, it's an odd film. Every individual scene is a hoot, but it feels like a series of individual sketches and doesn't hang together particularly well as a coherent story. I enjoyed it while watching it, but when it got to the end I thought, "Oh, is that it?" One for hardcore Coen devotees only.
Kung Fu Panda 3 - Po goes in search of a family and learns the power of chi, so he can battle an ancient enemy returned from another dimension. This is a rather pointless sequel in a series which ran out of "awesomeness" a while back and now mostly resembles a video game. Dustin Hoffman's Shifu lifts the film slightly with his dry sense of humour, but it's not enough to make it worth watching.
Eddie the Eagle - A real feel-good film, and possibly my favourite of the year so far. Large amounts of it are made up, but What could be more English than celebrating eccentricity and backing the underdog? Taron Egerton nabages to be funny and serious at the same time in his protrayal of Eddie's determination to follow his dream. There's a stonking supporting cast including (a weirdly American) Hugh Jackman, Tim McInnery, Jim Broadbent and a cameo from Christopher Walken. The message is quite simple - it's not the winning; it's how you take part, but you've never seen it demonstrated so well. Definitely recommended. I had a big, cheesy grin on my face almost all the way through. :o)
High Rise - Adapted from a JG Ballard novel of the same name, this is a dystopian tale set in a tower block in which the floor you live on determines your social status. Over the course of three months the society designed by deranged architect Jeremy Irons (Where has he been for the last 15 years?) breaks down and anarchy begins to rule, triggered by nothing more than human nature. While it's not always clear what's going on, this is a powerful tale of class warfare and social engineering gone haywire. There are lots of deep, important reasons to see it, although I'm sure some of you will see it only because I drop the words "naked Tom Hiddleston". ;o)
The VVitch - Although this might look like a trashy horror movie from the publicity, it's actually a very old-fashioned story. There's very little effects or "jump" moments, no obvious monster and even a lot of the dialogue is lifted from the 17th century folk tales on which it's based. We follow the lives of a lone family trying to scrape a living in New England, when mysterious and tragic events strike them. It seems there is an evil presence in their midst, but who or what is behind it all? Is one of them a witch? It's not entirely successful as a film, but it certainly draws you in and creeps you out.