January 2019 Cinema Reviews

Bumblebee – I’m delighted to say that talk of this being the Transformers film we’d been waiting for were spot on. A film that succeeds where 5 previous instalments failed. It manages to be emotional, funny, nostalgic and it gives us the battle of Cybertron we’ve wanted to see since this franchise was rebooted all the way back in 2007. Oh and the soundtrack is awesome.

Ralph Breaks The Internet – A fine sequel to 2012’s surprise Disney hit Wreck It Ralph, but one that tries a little too hard to be bigger and better but never quite hits it’s lofty target. It’s not quite as heartwarming or charming as it’s predecessor, and unlike the first film, the soundtrack is a bit of a damp squib. Gone is Rhianna telling you to shut up and drive, and even Vanellope’s catchy Sugar Rush song can’t be matched. The film’s biggest failing is that it wants to have an important message, but it all gets a bit lost. The writers should have just kept it light and fun like the first one. Also, I get the whole “oh you broke the internet” thing, but shouldn’t it have been called Ralph Wrecks The Internet? Wouldn’t that have made more sense in the grand scheme of things? No? Just me then.

Colette – Such a delight from start to finish. Keira Knightley who can sometimes be a bit cloying, especially when she’s doing a period piece like this one, is actually engaging and feisty in her portrayal of real life writer Gabrielle Colette. I will admit ashamedly that although I proclaim to be a writer myself (and a woman to boot) I had never heard of Colette before I saw Knightley interviewed on The Graham Norton Show. And I almost didn’t see the movie as the clips I’d seen hadn’t exactly sparked my interest. It was only while discussing with a colleague what I might go and see at the cinema that night that she told me she had seen the film, and raved about how good it was. I’m so glad I saw it as it was a really interesting film, the sets and locations stunning, and the performances were fantastic. Knightley captures Colette beautifully; her frustrations, her anger, her inquisitive and adventurous sides, and by god her stubbornness. I’d watch this again in a heartbeat. Such a delicious story.

Stan and Ollie – While it’s not the most fascinating, most hilarious, or featuring the most lesbian sex of all the true stories out at the cinema right now, Steve Coogan and John C Reilly are both fantastic in Stan and Ollie. It’s a gentle film that ambles along at its own pace but it transports you into their world perfectly and they are both heartbreakingly wonderful. If neither of them at least get nominated by one of the major awards givers it’ll be a travesty. Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda also put in stunning supporting performances as Ollie and Stan’s wives respectively, which gives the film even more heart. If the last shot of the wives in the theatre doesn’t make you cry then make sure you read the extra bits in the credits. If I’d not been surrounded by people I probably would have wailed. It’s completely down to the two of them and how much you bought into their friendship. Such a lovely movie.

Mary Queen Of Scots – Excellent performances from Saoirse Ronan and Margo Robbie lift this above standard Tudor era fare. The women stand strong and defiant and it’s lovely to see the women’s roles shine in a movie that is predominantly filled with men trying to tell them what to do. It doesn’t shy away from some of the harder to stomach truths of the Elizabethan reign, which I found refreshing even if my cinema buddy was less pleased. The costumes and locations are a sumptuous feast for the eyes, and I now want to go back to Edinburgh and learn all about Mary all over again.

Beautiful Boy – It was only after I saw this film that I saw Timothee Chalamet interviewed on The Graham Norton Show, where he described Beautiful Boy as a horror film. And while I don’t think that’s a very accurate description of the movie, I can see why he said that. The subject matter and scenes of what Nick’s drug use does to him and his family is certainly horrific. But this is definitely more of a drama than a horror. I also didn’t know until the end of the movie that this film is based on a true story. It’s definitely an important film, and I’m sure one that will speak to a great many people who have either been addicted to something, be it drugs or alcohol or something else, as well as the people their addiction ultimately hurts. I found the performances from both Chalamet and Carrell to be very affecting, but ultimately the film was overlong and felt very repetitive. That was probably intentional as it shows how repetitive recovery and relapse is, but it doesn’t really make for very interesting cinema. Also, not sure if Abbie from ER has had her lips done since her stint on that show, but I found her constant pouty fish expressions to be really distracting.

The Mule – Similar over pouting expressions from Diane Wiest in this movie were about the only fault I could levy upon this heartwarming tale of a 90 year old drug mule and the DEA agent sent to bring him in. Clint Eastwood puts in a believable and shockingly likeable turn as Earl Stone, a man on the verge of losing everything he ever loved, who is somewhat conned into becoming a drug mule. He accepts some work as a “driver” for a friend of his Granddaughter and unknowingly takes a package from point A to point B. He soon realises what it is he’s transporting, but by then he’s starting to like the money he’s earning, and the joy he’s able to bring to those he loves by spreading his wealth. There’s a side story about the drug cartel that’s neither here nor there really, as the main focus of the movie is Earl and his attempts to win back the family he’s lost. I have to admit that I was completely rooting for Earl to get away with it but I’m not going to tell you whether he did or not. You’ll have to see for yourself.

The Favourite – After waiting sooooooo long to watch this I’m sad to say I wasn’t much of a fan. Yes the central three performances are spectacular. Olivia Coleman brought me to tears when she talked about her babies, Rachel Weisz was an excellent scorned woman, and Emma Stone’s innocent little girl routine was perfect for her character. However these three brilliant women were all overshadowed by weird circular camera lenses that made my eyes hurt, a score that sounds like an alarm is going off, and an overlong and boring story. I’ve seen movies like this before where there’s multiple back stabbers and the audience isn’t even sure who the real villain of the piece is. But there was no such delicious intrigue in this movie, you just watch the events unfold with relatively little interest. It’s a shame as I was really looking forward to it and then I couldn’t really wait for it to be over, if just so I would stop feeling sick from all of those weird circular camera angles and that never-ending alarm of a score.

Vice – Definitely NOT the best film of the year, in my opinion. I’ve already seen about half a dozen that are better than this and it’s only January! I will concede that it WAS interesting, especially as someone who lived through the Bush Jr administration but who was too young to really take interest in politics, or understand that he was massively controlled by his team, headed up by Vice President Chaney. But I definitely felt it needed to be more stringently edited as it was quite long, and some of it just didn’t seem to work (the weird Shakespeare bit and the part where it pretended it was ending half way through the film). Then there were other bits where it just cut off mid way through someone speaking. More and more frequently with movies like this with big directors and big name actors, I often feel they are given a little too much free reign and there aren’t enough people around them to say ‘that didn’t work’, or ‘that could be a shorter scene’. I felt that way about The Favourite too. Although in the case of this film it certainly didn’t help matters that snow was imminent and my friend fell asleep, which made me very aware of how long the film was on both counts. I will say however that Amy Adams was her usual amazing self, and Christian Bale has surely got to be doing serious damage to his body at this point from all the weight he puts on for roles which he then loses, but as usual he impressed. I wished Sam Rockwell had more to do as I think he’s a wonderful and massively underrated actor, but I understand this was a movie about Chaney and not Bush, and so the size of his role had to reflect that. Steve Carrell also continues to impress in another dramatic role, but the film overall was long, and Chaney’s story, while he was devious and villainous, it just wasn’t fascinating enough to make this a good film.

Getting My House In Order

I recently heard that Google's Blogger was closing. Whether it's true, and whether it means old blogs will disappear or not remains to be seen. To be on the safe side, and to not lose YEARS worth of posts, I made the decision to move everything to my old Wordpress blog that I've had for years and done virtually nothing with.

And when I say move everything, I really do mean EVERYTHING. Because I also decided that this blog would contain all of my previous blogger blogs, as well as any book reviews that I also post to my Goodreads account.

That might mean that you get a bit of an odd amalgamation of personal posts, random stuff to do with writing, film reviews, book reviews, theatre reviews and possibly my beauty product reviews too. I haven't decided if I'm including them or not yet.

I hope that means you get an interesting mix of content rather than it feeling disjointed but to be honest I really don't know how it will work yet.

Whatever brought you here I hope you will continue to follow me on the Wordpress platform and enjoy what will be forthcoming, and as always I am very grateful that you have decided to spend a little bit of your valuable time in my strange little world.

As long as Blogger is here I will endeavour to post updates here too but as I don't know how long that will be for I'm giving you all a heads up.

Much love Lady K

Bohemian Rhapsody

One of my earliest memories is of my sister Tracey watching Live Aid on TV. I don’t remember watching it myself, I was five at the time, and probably doing much more important things like playing with Barbies. But I remember her watching it and I remember it being a big deal. I knew it mattered even then.

Fast forward to about 5 or so years later and the beginnings of my Queen phase. I had posters, I had every album on cassette and vinyl, I had videos of their concerts. I was not cool. But then I was never destined to be. I’ve always embraced the things I loved, no matter how uncool they made me. I didn't know another teenager who's favourite band was Queen, and who's favourite TV show was Star Trek The Next Generation. But if I can’t be true to myself it doesn’t matter how much fake me fits in, she’s not the real me.

I know right now you’re probably thinking, jeez just get on with the review already. I’m prefacing the review with my earliest account of fandom because not only did loving Queen make up a very important part of what made me me at an early age, but it also probably indicates the expectations I had for this film. The first time that Freddie’s story had been told to the masses, and a lot of people will take this movie as gospel.

Those of us who have followed Queen for a long time however, those of us who’ve read up on the band, we know that this movie is not showing the full story. And in some instances has jumbled up some very important events in the Queen timeline.

If like me you’ve read any of the reviews for this movie you’ll know that amongst fans of the band, there have been a lot of less than favourable write ups. Even knowing this I still wanted to see the film and make up my own mind, as I quite often do. So that you don’t lose faith and stop reading, I will say now that I’m glad I did.

If you’re a fan of Queen there is still a lot here for you. Firstly the performances. Rami Malek really does put his heart and soul into becoming Freddie. It’s an impossible task but my god does he put everything into it. It doesn’t feel like he’s “doing” Freddie, it doesn’t feel like a caricature based on what we know of Freddie, it’s not a performance that’s all in the teeth. He’s not Freddie and he doesn’t quite have Freddie’s flamboyance, but he gives it his all and he’s believable.

Gwilym Lee and Joe Mazzello playing Brian and John respectably are incredible. They are so like them that it’s like you’re watching the real people. I was flabbergasted at how good they were and how true to Brian and John they were. Roger I never quite got. Ben Hardy was as good as the other guys performance wise, but I never fully believed him as Roger.

Lucy Boynton who first impressed in the fabulous Sing Street also does a believable and rather heartbreaking turn as Freddie’s longtime friend and lover Mary Austin. And as someone who is aware of the significant part that Mary played in Freddie’s life, I’m really happy to see that neither she nor Freddie’s bisexuality were erased in this movie.

The main problems I had with the film I already knew about going in, and as such I think I was probably the right level of prepared that they didn’t annoy me as much as if I’d not known about them going in. The first is how the film paints the remaining members of Queen as innocent little choir boys compared with bad influence Freddie. It also downplayed Freddie’s lifestyle too, which considering the story they are telling here seems kinda detrimental to the finished product? The second inaccuracy is that Freddie received his AIDS diagnosis prior to Live Aid.

This is my biggest bugbear for two reasons. 1) a whole new generation of Queen fans that this film will create will be massively misinformed. 2) It undermines not only one of Freddie’s best performances, but the live performance voted the best of all time, by anybody.

He didn’t give that performance because he knew he was going to die. He gave it because he was just that fucking good. To suggest otherwise just detracts from how fantastic that performance was.

However, those annoyances aside, I still found that I enjoyed the film overall. I felt giddy every time they came up with a new song that we already know and love, and the recreation of the Live Aid concert cannot fail to be enjoyed on a big screen. Hearing Freddie in surround sound certainly didn’t hurt. Some of the members of the audience that I was in were clapping along to Radio Ga Ga and that couldn't fail to warm my heart.

The dubbing isn’t always done that well, but the alternative of not having Freddie’s voice in the movie could only have been disastrous. Therefore my complaints here are minimal.

I’m not ashamed to say I blubbed like a baby at the end of the film, and upon hearing the opening strains of one of my favourite Queen songs in the credits I resolved to stay to the end, and give Freddie my utmost respects for being the artist who tells me when I’m feeling down, the show must go on.

8/10

The Not So Magnificent Seven

After such a good start to October I somehow managed to while away the rest of the month without seeing another film, and even worse, without making use of my trusty Cineworld Card.

Desperately trying to catch up with what I'd missed, and make use of my card, I somehow managed to cram 7 films into 3 days.

I'm not going to say a great deal on all of them but I thought a brief run down of my thoughts was required.

We shall start with the first film I saw - The Hate U Give



Incredibly important film about the current Black Lives Matter movement in the US, and the frequency with which unarmed black men are being killed by white police officers. This isn't based on a true story but it could so easily be based on any number of accounts of exactly the same situation as what happens in this film.

A strong central performance from Amanda Stenberg makes this film stand out from the crowd. It's both eye opening and incredibly moving in parts. Definitely worth a watch if it's still on near you. 7/10

Film 2 was the rather lacklustre Venom. 

Disappointingly neither Tom Hardy or Riz Ahmed are at their best here. And is it just me or is Michelle Williams acting actually getting worse (and is she becoming more breathy sounding) with each passing year? The effects are kinda ropey in places, and ultimately it leaves you wondering ‘did this film need to be made’? The end credits glimpse at the new Animated Spider-Man feature film looks great though it has to be said. 5/10

The third film I saw was Bohemian Rhapsody. I have a LOT to say about this one so it’s getting a separate review. Keep your eyes peeled for that!

Film four was the overlong and incredibly boring First Man. 

If Ryan Gosling can’t make your lead character interesting and charismatic then I think your film has problems. If this film is genuinely based on truth then I’m sorry to say that Neil Armstrong is a very dull man. The director needed reining in on the running time of this beast, and I think other characters should have been given more of a chance to shine. We know he gets to the moon so why did it take so damn long to show it?

This is by no means a bad film. The acting is top notch and I can certainly see Oscar nominations rocketing towards this one, but it's incredibly long and tediously, and just boring, and therefore I can only give it 4/10.

The fifth film I saw was the first of a horror triple bill - Slaughterhouse Rulez.

I will admit that from the trailer I was fully expecting this to be a slight step up from a Goosebumps type movie but it fell somewhere between that and a real gore fest. I enjoyed it, even if the acting isn’t always top notch, it was a fun ride and a perfect post Halloween movie. 6/10

The penultimate movie of the triple (and indeed the not-always-so-magnificent 7) was Goosebumps 2. 

I know I saw the last Goosebumps movie but I’ll be honest, I don’t remember much about it. This one was loads of fun. The possessed dummy was just the right amount of creepy for a kids film, and considering this definitely WAS made for kids (it’s a PG cert) I thought it was more engaging than Slaughterhouse. I found myself enjoying it a lot more and just generally having a blast. Definitely recommend for those with kids looking for a spooky film this autumn. 7/10

Finally that leads me to him. He came home. And what a bloody and fitting end to the Halloween franchise this is (providing the powers that be don’t decide to make another one).



Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode from the original 1978 Halloween (that's right kids, that's before even I was born) returns for this sequel which effectively erases every Halloween movie that has followed in the last 40 years (including Halloween 2, H20 and Resurrection which all also featured Curtis as Laurie Strode). Forget those movies exist because this is the definitive sequel. Strode has spent the last 40 years dealing with PTSD over what happened on that fateful Halloween night, and my god has she got her Sarah Conner on.

Strode has always known the day would come when Michael Myers would again escape the mental facility that houses him, and she has prepared for the day when she would once again face him.

I won't give any spoilers away but I will say that for fans of the original this is an absolute must see. I will admit that I am nowhere near as hardcore horror as I used to be and I was scared to see this on my own, which is why I waited to see it until someone could come with me. But it's not wall to wall horror as some would have you believe.

Sure there are jump scares, and to bring the franchise bang up to date there are some scenes that are truly gruesome and horrific, but this is a Halloween movie, would you really expect anything less? Curtis and co act their socks off. It's great to see so many strong women in this movie, rather than them just being the screaming victim all the time, and for a woman in her 60s, Jamie Lee Curtis is as bad ass as they come.

As a huge fan of the original I honestly can't recommend Halloween highly enough to fellow fans. See it before it finishes in cinemas. 9/10

Three Films, Three Days, Three Cinemas

As the title of this blog suggests, last weekend I unintentionally saw three different films over three days at three different cinemas.

I'll start with the first film A Star Is Born which I saw on Friday at The Connaught Theatre in Worthing.

A Star Is Born is the fourth incarnation of this apparently timeless story, previous versions having starred Kris Kristofferson and Barbara Streisand, James Mason and Judy Garland and Fredric March and Janet Gaynor. None of which I am ashamed to say I have seen.

In some ways it probably helped to see this version having not seen any of the previous ones as it puts less expectation on the new version, which by all accounts of Director Bradley Cooper, only has certain elements in common with the previous films anyway.

The story this time focuses on established Rock star Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) who is clearly struggling with alcohol and drug addiction when we meet him at the start of the film. After a gig he stops at a bar where he meets Ally (Lady Gaga), a waitress who has a natural talent for singing and song writing. Jackson finds himself drawn to this woman who has such a unique outlook on him, and on the world around her, and he finds himself falling for her, and her for him. But of course, with addiction thrown into the mix, it's never going to be plain sailing for the two.

A Star Is Born had me gripped from start to finish, mainly because of the performances of the two leads. I bought into their love affair from the off, even though on reflection, it did seem to happen very fast. I found the chemistry between Cooper and Gaga to be electrifying. They bounced off each other so well, and when they sang together it was a thing of beauty (I've already purchased the soundtrack).

The only negatives I can say are that the film is quite long, and does feel it. Not that that is especially bad. At no point was I not enjoying it, but I did feel it could have benefitted from being a few minutes shorter. And the shocking scene at the end of the movie I felt unprepared for. I knew it was going to be sad. People had told me it would be sad. And it was one of those movies that you could tell was going to be tragic in some way, but I was not at all prepared for what did happen, and I felt duped somewhat that I hadn't been prepared.

Having said all of that, the film is stunningly directed by first timer Cooper, and I  was definitely not expecting Gaga to be as good as she was. Yes it wasn't a big stretch to play a girl from New York who has natural talent and makes it in the music industry - if not quite being herself - but she was still fantastic and nothing can take that away from her.

8/10

On Saturday I saw A House With A Clock In It's Walls at Odeon Brighton. What an adventure that was.

Sadly that adventure had more to do with the awful experience my friend and I had at the Odeon than the film itself. Which I am sure when watched uninterrupted by several fire alarms and a restart that came with sound but no picture, would have been a perfectly adequate family romp but which would have been otherwise rather unremarkable.

A House... tells the story of an orphaned boy Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) going to live with his uncle (Jack Black) who it turns out is a warlock (boy witch), and who's neighbour (the always stylish and stunning Cate Blanchett) is also a witch. 

During the course of the movie we discover, along with Lewis, that the magnificent house his uncle lives in was cursed by the former resident, an evil warlock (Kyle MacLachlan) and the three of them must work together to break the spell he placed on the house, before it changes the course of history.

Unfortunately, it feels like I will remember A House... for all of the wrong reasons, and that my overriding thoughts on the movie will be tainted by the truly awful experience of a cinema where no-one working there knew what was happening, how to communicate with the cinema goers, let alone with each other, and where I would think twice before going to watch another movie, EVER AGAIN.

A House gets 6/10 and I think that's me being quite generous.

On Sunday I went to see The Wife at my favourite of the Brighton cinema's Dukes at Komedia.

I'd seen the trailer for this twice at said cinema, and was then shocked to see it wasn't showing there on the first week of the movie being released. It was instead only showing at The Duke Of Yorks, which if it's possible to, I despise more than the Odeon.

I don't think I have ever had a pleasant experience at the DoY's which is a real shame as I love to support independent cinema, and yet I hate to go there with every fibre of my being.

I was saddened to think that I would have to break my 'no DoY's' rule and go there to see The Wife, when to my surprise, in it's second week of release went to Dukes at Komedia. Phew.

The Wife tells the story of Joan Castleman (Glenn Close), wife of Author Joseph Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) who is about to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. You can tell from the trailer that he's going to be a bit of a shit, but to what extent it's unclear. Well, without spoiling the movie I couldn't possibly say but let's just say that he's more of a shit than the trailer would have you believe. 

The performances are fantastic from Close and Pryce, and I must say it was a lovely surprise to see Christian Slater in a mainstream movie where he's actually really good and working with really great actors again.

Regrettably, although the calibre of acting here is way above par, the story is still a little slow in places, and the end is not as punchy as I had hoped it would be from the trailer. Still an intriguing and superbly acted film that I would highly recommend, but definitely more of a slow burner.

7/10