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

Oz The Great And Powerful

Mini Review

http://disney.go.com/thewizard/

For most people, Oz The Great And Powerful was highly anticipated. Not so much for me. On the one hand I was intrigued by the trailer but on the other hand I didn't just dislike The Wizard Of Oz, I downright hated it. But it was my turn to pick the Orange/EE Wednesday film to watch with my friend and as I thought Oz would be gone from the cinema soon I plumped for that. 

The film takes us back to before Dorothy landed in Oz, right back to when the Wizard of Oz landed in Oz. Oscar Diggs is a carnival magician and a bit of a scoundrel by all accounts. One day when the travellers are packing up to leave, his scheming ways catch up with him and he finds himself in a sticky situation. His only escape is a hot air balloon, which he promptly climbs into. Before he knows it he's headed into a tornado which whisks him off to the land of Oz. There he meets Theodora, a beautiful white witch who tells him of the plight of those who live in Oz, as the threat of the wicked witch plagues them. Ah but wait, there is a prophecy that a great wizard will come and save them all. Could he be that great man?

Mmm, probably not. He might be handy with an illusion or two but don't expect Oz to lead anyone in a great fight to the death, he's far too much of a coward for that. Which is a pity because he's the star of the show, the Great and Powerful one of the title, and yet he's a bit of a shit really. Not exactly the hero you can really get behind and root for. And I think ultimately this is Oz's undoing. Sure it looks great and has lots of pretty ladies in nice dresses, heck every now and then there's even a Wizard Of Oz reference thrown in for good measure. But what good is any of that if you have a useless, cowardly, not even that attractive, and all round not very nice, 'hero'? 

It's no good at all. James Franco is known for his sometimes odd and sometimes on the money film choices, and I can understand why he took this but it just didn't work for me. Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz all look very pretty but they don't have an awful lot to do. Thankfully, the only thing that could have made me hate this more, singing, never gets into full swing. It's the one thing I'm thankful to Oz for. Overall, a disappointing and unnecessary prequel but if you're a fan of the original there might be something here for you. 4 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 27th March 2013

UK Release Date - 8th March 2013

Cast Overview:

James Franco ~ Oscar (Oz) Diggs

Mila Kunis ~ Theodora

Rachel Weisz ~ Evanora

Michelle Williams ~ Annie/Glinda

Zach Braff ~ Frank/Finley

Bill Cobbs ~ Master Tinker

Joey King ~ Girl in wheelchair/China Girl

Tony Cox ~ Knuck

Director ~ Sam Raimi

Writer(s) ~ Mitchell Kapner (Screenplay and Screen Story), David Lindsay-Abaire (Screenplay) and L. Frank Baum ("Oz" works)

My Week With Marilyn

http://myweekwithmarilynmovie.com/

I'm sure what I'm about to say will be a shock to a lot of my regular readers and to a lot of my friends too. I have never seen a Marilyn Monroe film. I don't consider myself a fan of hers and in truth I've never been that intrigued or beguiled by her as most people are. I am however, intrigued by the way she died. As a lot of people are. I think there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.

I also think she was beautiful, a shining star of her era, and I think her death was a tragedy because she never got to reach her full potential. That's why, despite my lack of enthusiasm towards Marilyn herself, I wanted to see this adaptation of a supposedly true story. A window into the life of one of the most iconic women in the world.

The film is set during the time that Ms Monroe (Michelle Williams) spent in England filming 'The Prince and the Showgirl' with Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). The third assistant director on 'The Prince and the Showgirl' was Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), who had been hired as a favour to a relative who worked for the studio making the film. During his time on set Colin gets to know Marilyn and becomes one of the few people she trusts and she relies on him as a confidante. They become ever closer when Marilyn's husband, playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), leaves the UK to go back to his children in the US, leaving Marilyn in a strange country and feeling alienated from the cast and crew who she's convinced all hate her.

I saw this movie with my best friend who is a lifelong Marilyn fan. And what a difference this made, it gave me an insight into the 'true story' this film is based on that I wouldn't have otherwise had. I was reliably informed that a lot of 'borrowing' went on in this film, something which has been backed up by articles I've read since seeing it. Things we know happened have been interwoven into the screenplay to make everything else all the more convincing.

Colin Clark's memoirs after all can't really be contested, as the one person who could confirm or deny their contents wasn't here when the books were published. And although the film doesn't quite confirm an affair between the two it is certainly implied that they were very close. And no matter how lonely Marilyn felt, I find it hard to believe she would have been so open and 'friendly' with a guy like Colin.

I digress however as this is a review of the film and not my opinion on a book I've never read. Though it's hard to review one without mentioning the other. One of the main reasons I wanted to see this (as I'm not a Marilyn fan) was Michelle Williams. As mentioned in my Blue Valentine review, I have been a fan of Miss Williams for a number of years now. And while she is good in the title role, she's not at her best. I would definitely say "don't believe the hype" in this case, that way you might be pleasantly surprised rather than mildly disappointed with her performance. You can tell that she's put a lot of research into her character, and it pays off to some extent, but she just doesn't quite pull off Marilyn. 

But then I defy you to find someone who could. This is the problem with making films about film stars of old. They had old school Hollywood glamour on their side, they were icons of the silver screen. How does one imitate that? Clearly the answer is that they don't as Michelle, try as she might, just can't capture that star quality that Marilyn seemed to ooze from every inch of her. I mentioned above that I've never seen a Marilyn Monroe film. This is true. I have however seen bits of Marilyn Monroe films. And seen enough images and interviews etc to believe I know what I'm talking about when I say she oozed star quality. There's a reason she's the icon she is, no-one has come close to matching her je ne sais quoi. Whatever it was that she had that made her so appealing, no other movie star has ever captured it. And I don't think they ever will. 

That said, Michelle Williams does a good job of an impossible task and you don't come away annoyed or angered by her performance. And I think that's the most you can hope for. Branagh and Dench on the other hand are both fabulous in their respective roles of Sir Olivier and Dame Thorndike. Dench doesn't have an awful lot to do but you relish every time she's on screen and she fills her character with such likability that I can only hope Sybil was as nice in real life. And from the little I've seen of Laurence Olivier in The Prince and the Showgirl I think Branagh's portrayal of him is spot on. Unfortunately for Branagh I imagine he'll be largely overlooked as all the talk will be about Williams. Finally, Redmayne, although still a little too weird looking for my tastes, is fittingly bland in his role of Colin. That's not to say he's not good, it's just that his is the least showy of all the lead roles and he plays this to perfection. Support is ably supplied by Dominic Cooper, Emma Watson and Zoe Wanamaker amongst others.

Overall, an interesting, if a little indulgent film but one which I imagine is more fiction than fact. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 28th November 2011

UK Release Date - 25th November 2011

Cast Overview:

Michelle Williams ~ Marilyn Monroe

Eddie Redmayne ~ Colin Clark

Kenneth Branagh ~ Sir Laurence Olivier

Judi Dench ~ Dame Sybil Thorndike

Emma Watson ~ Lucy

Julia Ormond ~ Vivien Leigh

Dominic Cooper ~ Milton Greene

Dougray Scott ~ Arthur Miller

Zoe Wanamaker ~ Paula Strasberg

Derek Jacobi ~ Sir Owen Morshead

Geraldine Somerville ~ Lady Jane Clark

Michael Kitchen ~ Hugh Perceval

Toby Jones ~ Arthur Jacobs

Jim Carter ~ Barry

Director ~ Simon Curtis

Writer(s) ~ Adrian Hodges (Screenplay) and Colin Clark (based on his books 'My Week With Marilyn' and 'The Prince, the Showgirl and Me')

Blue Valentine

http://www.bluevalentinemovie.com/

As mentioned previously, I am a big fan of The Notebook. In developing a love of that film I also developed a fondness for it's stars Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. And as such I tend to look forward to their up-coming projects. Blue Valentine is no exception to that rule. 


Blue Valentine had the added bonus of also starring Michelle Williams, who I've been a fan of since her Dawson's Creek days. I was eagerly anticipating the film's release when I read a fascinating interview with Ms Williams in Empire Magazine (http://tinyurl.com/6hq9toh). In the interview Williams talks about how committed she'd been to telling this story, ever since she first read the script when she was in her early 20s*. The interview also sheds light on the director's methods of enabling his actors to get to know each other well enough to hate each other. Williams explains how she and Gosling prepared for their roles by living together for a month, in between filming, in order to find out what would annoy them about each other if they were a real couple. For example, what would make them argue etc.


By the time the film's release date came around, it was obvious that none of the cinemas in my town (or surrounding area) were going to be showing it. I find it's always the way with the ones you REALLY want to see! Thankfully I have an amazing best friend who not only wanted to see the film, but also didn't mind taking time out of her Valentines Day plans to go to London, and see the film with me at the delightful Prince Charles Cinema.


The film flips between present day bitterness and the bittersweet early days of Cindy and Dean. They met by chance when he was working for a removal firm, moving an elderly man into a home. She happened to be visiting her grandmother at the same home on the same day. As Cindy had a boyfriend, she turned down Dean's offer of a date. They meet again a month later when Cindy has become disillusioned with said boyfriend and decides to give Dean a chance. In between these flashes of the past we also see Dean and Cindy as they are now, embittered and worn down by life, family, jobs and each other. The film continues to switch between Cindy and Dean then, getting to know each other and falling in love, to now, knowing too much about the other person and falling out of love. 


While I concede that this is not the cheeriest of films, I thought it did accurately portray the way that people drift apart and how sometimes, love just isn't enough. The interwoven flashback scenes of how Dean and Cindy met and fell in love are so believable. So much so that I felt a little uncomfortable watching the more intimate scenes, as though I were peeking into a real couple's private life through a keyhole. This only speaks of how good Williams and Gosling are, and how much they put themselves into these characters. Their director clearly had method to his madness in having them live together during filming, as I'm sure it was this prolonged time together that made their performances so grounded in reality. 


I can't go so far as to say that the film was enjoyable, as watching two people fight for their love rarely is. But I will say that it was a fascinating insight into the lives of a realistic and thoughtfully portrayed (dis)functional couple. 8 out of 10.

*For the purpose of grasping how long writer/director Derek Cianfrance has been trying to get Blue Valentine made and released, Michelle Williams is now 30.

Viewing Date - 14th February 2011

UK Release Date - 14th January 2011

Cast Overview:

Ryan Gosling ~ Dean

Michelle Williams ~ Cindy

Faith Wladyka ~ Frankie

John Doman ~ Jerry

Mike Vogel ~ Bobby

Director/Writer ~ Derek Cianfrance

Writer ~ Cami Delavigne

Writer ~ Joey Curtis