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myyearinmovies

Aug 31, 2017

258)⋆ Atomic Blonde (2017)⋆ -17/8/2017 (Spoilers)

Sensual and savage, Lorraine Broughton is the most elite spy in MI6, an agent who's willing to use all of her lethal skills to stay alive during an impossible mission. With the Berlin Wall about to fall, she travels into the heart of the city to retrieve a priceless dossier and take down a ruthlessespionage ring. Once there, she teams up with an embedded station chief to navigate her way through the deadliest game of spies.

What can I say, i’ve been waiting for months and months and it did not disappoint! I’m quite selective over my spy movies, I don’t normally gravitate towards them but with this one I did and what a hell of a spy movie it was. I originally became aware of it because James McAvoy (surprise, surprise) was going to be the supporting actor in the movie and this was also back when it was called The Coldest City after the graphic novel. It wasn’t till a few months later that it was re changed to Atomic Blonde and the whole vibe of it screamed 80s. Before viewing the film, I obviously went by the trailer and what I was expecting was a cool 80s soundtrack, for me to like the cheeky David Percival (James McAvoy) and for epic fight scenes. This film did that and more!

The aesthetic of the film was just what I had wanted out of this film. The Cold War was bleak in Berlin but the varying shades of blue mixed with the neon colours almost added a little extra something to the film without taking the grunge away from the underdog areas of Berlin of that time. I don’t think it glamorised it as such in certain bits of the film but it did show realism to some aspects of that period. The Guardian described it as “sleazy, neon aesthetic that looks like an X-rated, ultraviolent knock-off of a Duran Duran video” and that sentence certainly sums up the film in one go. One particular scenery that stood out to me was Lorraine’s hotel room in Berlin. It SCREAMED 80s. The whole cinematography aesthetic just really made me happy.

The soundtrack itself also screamed 80s. It was like a sexier version of the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. Classic songs from the era like New Order, Depeche Mode (boy was I happy to hear them) and many others really help set the mood for the film. Particularly when the song Behind The Wheel by Depeche Mode played over the top of the scene where they were planning to get Spyglass through the protest crowd. It’s such a moody and almost hypnotic song. Like Guardians of the Galaxy as well, there were some songs that did add a little bit of humour. Particularly the use of I Ran (So Far Away) when she’s being chased in the car with Spyglass.

For me I couldn’t see anyone else playing Lorraine than Charlize Theron. MY GOD THAT WOMAN CAN MOVE! I feel like that role was just for Theron and no one else. I had heard people compare her Keanu Reeves’ character John Wick and it most certainly did feel like that. Another thing that stood out for me about what they did with the character’s wardrobe. A lot of the outfits were simple but they all looked glamorous without much effort. And the flexibility of the outfits surprised me to no ends. Particularly the outfit with over the knee boots, suspenders, short skirt, turtleneck jumper and white coat. The way she moved was fantastic and well choreographed. You could see that the outfit didn’t constrict her. I was quite a bit jealous of her wardrobe. I’m also obsessed with her hair. Of course we can’t even ignore how Debbie Harry she looks!

Another thing to add about the film as a whole: it’s just so amazing to see another strong female lead film, and a badass one at that! I feel like we’re getting more films like this (with Wonder Woman proving to be a huge success and Rey in Star Wars The Force Awakens amongst many more) that young girls can not so much look up to but realise that women can be as strong and fight just as good as men which I ADORE. This next generation of kids are gonna be looking at so many strong female leads (in not only film but TV too) and it makes me so happy thinking about it. (This film isn’t for kids but you get the idea.) When I came out of the cinema, it made me feel so empowered and I knew immediately I needed to get that soundtrack up on spotify as I travelled home strut to the music ready to kick some guy’s butt. (not quite like that but you must know the feeling i’m on about!) And also what I thought was so cool that they made the character openly bi which I think is quite a step forward. (I mean it could have been a case where the character did it for the job but you could see by the end of the film that she cared for Delphine.) It’s almost as if they treated the audience like “Yeah she’s bi. Who cares?! She’d probably beat the living shit out of you anyway.”

David Percival, you naughty little shit. When I first watched the trailer I was expecting him to be a good guy (that is true) and that I was going to love him but what a turn he took! It almost made me a little angry how he betrayed Lorraine. I didn’t hate him but I didn’t love him. He played the game well and was clever which I kinda liked that about him, but he came to a sticky end that I wasn’t really expecting too much by the very end of the film. Also I feel like the trailer makes you assume he’s in it more than he actually is. I know this film isn’t about him but when it actually came down to the film, he wasn’t in it as much as I was lead to believe. The scenes you see in the trailer is probably all you see of him on screen. I did however kinda liked the ruggedness of Percival’s ‘blending in’ look even if he did look like he was a short Brad Pitt. (I’m joking! – although the outfit literally looks like it’s been ripped straight out of Fight Club.) I think it was a shame we didn’t see Percival in more fight scenes other than the very beginning of the film as I know Mr McAvoy has said in the past he likes a good fight scene and was a little disappointed he didn’t have more in the film.

A particular scene in the film where Lorraine is fighting some bad guys through a stairwell to an apartment block where it appeared to be a one shot was extremely clever and I enjoyed it. It almost reminded me of the church scene in Kingsman the way it flowed through and sped up slightly in certain places. The whole scene really kept you on the edge of your seat and the way Lorraine kept getting thrown around really made me wince. But the fact she still kept getting up and fighting back made me root for her even more!

It’s not apparent until the end but there is a key moral to this film and that is “Trust no one”. This is what lead to be a bit of a shock by the end of the film but it made what they said at the beginning of the film, “Trust no one”, all the more prominent but an interesting ending. I feel like there is a potential to make a sequel to the movie and I really hope they do.

Man, this is one solid as film. The soundtrack, aesthetic, fights and characters all bundled together made this one hell of a film. I recommend you see this film as soon as possible!

8/10

#Atomic Blonde#Charlize Theron#James McAvoy#movie review#film review#review#August#2017

myyearinmovies

Aug 22, 2017

250)⋆ Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003)⋆ - 8/8/2017 (No Spoilers)

When her father goes blind, Griet (Scarlett Johansson) must go to work as a maid for painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). While cleaning the house, Griet strikes up an unlikely friendship with Vermeer, which both agree to keep secret for fear of provoking the painter's jealous wife, Catharina (Essie Davis). When wealthy patron Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson) begins to lust after Griet, and commissions a painting of her, Vermeer and Griet are obliged to spend long hours alone together.

I only came across this film the other day while scrolling through my instagram feed (I follow a Insta paged called Shades On The Screen which I highly recommend you follow if you like film colour palettes). I really don’t know how I didn’t come across this film sooner! Majority of my photographic work for my degree project at university was based around Vermeer! As soon as I saw the posts on Insta from this film I knew I needed to watch it. Although as hyped as I was for the film, I came out on the other end going ‘it was an alright film, one I would happily watch again but it wasn’t amazing’. I thought I was going to completely fall in love with it but I didn’t. However I had points about the film I did enjoy.

There were some shots that made my heart skip a beat because they really were like a Vermeer painting coming to life. And I liked the cheeky references to Vermeer and Dutch painting that you may know if you have read anything on Dutch painting or familiar with it. I really liked the touch of looking through the shot. An example of this is what the Dutch called a ‘Trompe-l'œil’ which basically meant to make the foreground subject three dimensional. A lot of Flemish and later Dutch artists of Vermeer’s time were studying it. With the use of a curtain, artists would paint a life like looking curtain looking like it was draped over the painting as a way of making it three dimensional. The reason people used curtains as a way of doing this was because people would often have curtains covering their most prized paintings so no to damage it by light. So this particular shot in my opinion could be homage to Vermeer’s painting, The Love Letter. You could also argue that the fireplace is also reminiscent of Vermeer because it featured a lot in his paintings. The films other nice details are those of other paintings Vermeer did before Girl With A Pearl Earring. It yet again made my heart skip a beat.

As for the casting, I think it was an alright cast. Scarlett Johansson was so uncannily like the beauty from Vermeer’s painting and considering this is one of the films from early in Johansson’s career, she did an alright performance as Greit. I thought Colin Firth did a nice performance as Vermeer even though he didn’t say a lot but sit in the background and look moody. Johansson and Firth’s chemistry on screen was actually surprisingly good. I was expecting something to happen between them and it left me a little disappointed when nothing did happen in the ending. only two people who I knew were in the film were Johansson and Firth so Cillian Murphy was a surprise too! It was all a bit strange seeing them all so young.

The soundtrack had me captivated the whole time. It had such a haunting but beautiful tone to the whole thing. I felt like I recognised it as the film went on and I had to look up the composer and to my surprise and joy, it was Alexandre Desplat! Desplat is one of my all time composers and has made the music for some of my all time favourite films so I think the soundtrack for this, made the film worthwhile. The soundtrack had a similar tone to that of Edith’s Theme from Crimson Peak (or it should be the other way around) which excited me greatly. Oddly the Crimson Peak soundtrack wasn’t by Desplat but had the same nice flow to it.

Overall, I think a nice film with beautiful visuals that I think they did just right with the reminiscence of Vermeer’s work. It’s a film I would watch again but however it’s I think it may be a while before I do so.

6/10

#Scarlett Johansson#Colin Firth#Vermeer#Johannes Vermeer#Girl With The Pearl Earring#August#2017#film review#review#movie review

myyearinmovies

Aug 8, 2017

225) ⋆ Baby Driver (2017) ⋆ - 20/6/2017 (Mild Spoilers)

Talented getaway driver Baby (Ansel Elgort) relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. After meeting the woman (Lily James) of his dreams, he sees a chance to ditch his shady lifestyle and make a clean break. Coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), Baby must face the music as a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.

The first time I heard about this film was through Edgar Wright’s Twitter saying that he was making another film. I was thrilled because not only was it going to include some cool people, it was another Edgar Wright film and I bloody love that man’s work. The Cornetto Trilogy is a work of art. Then however, when I saw the trailer for the film, I was a little unsure of how I felt about it. It didn’t grip me as much as I was hoping. However every time I went to the cinema, the trailer would play and it gradually grew on me. I had a Cineworld Unlimited card so this allowed me to watch this a week and a day early before general release for the UK so I couldn’t really resist.

So the main things that attracted me to the film was the fact it was an Edgar Wright film and the soundtrack. From the trailer we see Baby, who uses music to help him drive so from this, I was expecting a soundtrack of absolute bangers and well known songs. What we got however wasn’t, in my opinion, as good as I had hoped. I don’t know, I feel like I was expecting something a little more. I’m not completely dismissing that there weren’t any banger songs, the songs they did play did seem to fit with the film and they were nice.

The cinematography was also top as usual. I did quite like the opening to the film where Baby was walking down the street singing along to the song, completely oblivious to the world. I also loved how it was shot as a ‘one take wonder’. I noticed Wright did that a few times in the film and it was fantastic. And of course, this one did include the choppy shots that Wright is famous for. And I must say, it really suited the high speed pace of the film. I feel like there was a bit ofHot Fuzzin there.

A little thing I noticed, a little quick cameo from Noel Fielding on the TV as Baby switched the TV channel. And because i’m sad like that it’s a tiny snippet from the music video he was in forMint Royale’s songBlue Song. I mean it didn’t surprise me too much because I know Noel Fielding is good buds with Edgar Wright and I recently found out Edgar Wright DID in fact direct the music video. If you watch the music video, it’s basically about a heist and Noel Fielding is the getaway driver who sticks on a tune while the others are out doing the heist and he sits and the car and sings and dances to it. That whole music video basically happened in the film. Baby did exactly what Noel Fielding did which was stick on a tune and dance while the others were out. I wonder if it was that music video that stemmedBaby Driver? I just thought it was a cool little thing to include.

(^^ I mean if you’ve seen the music video, you’ll be able to see that they’re basically wearing thesame black raincoat and shirt and tie!^^)

As far as the story goes, I think it was a pretty good plot. It was interesting and seemed to work quite well. I couldn’t help but feel like ‘Darling’ and ‘Buddy’ certainly had a Bonnie and Clyde vibe to them. What I also found interesting is by the end the tables sort of turned and then ‘Baby’ and Deborah had a Bonnie and Clyde vibe to them. I think the character of Deborah was quite good too. It’s kind of easy for writers to write the main lady to be kind of drippy and ditsy but I feel like Deborah wasn’t quite like that which I liked.

Overall, excellently written and obviously directed. Although it’s not one of my favourite Edgar Wright movies, hats off to the man himself for producing another good film.

7/10

#Baby Driver#June#2017#movie review#review#film review#baby driver spoilers

myyearinmovies

Aug 2, 2017

216)⋆ The Mummy (2017)⋆ - 9/6/2017 (Spoilers)

Nick Morton is a soldier of fortune who plunders ancient sites for timeless artifacts and sells them to the highest bidder. When Nick and his partner come under attack in the Middle East, the ensuing battle accidentally unearths Ahmanet, a betrayed Egyptian princess who was entombed under the desertfor thousands of years. With her powers constantly evolving, Morton must now stop the resurrected monster as she embarks on a furious rampage through the streets of London.

This was an average, no I’d probably say slightly below average film. I didn’t originally put my hopes up for this film and I’m really glad I didn’t. I knew from the first viewing of the trailer that this wasn’t going to live up to the original and frankly better The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001) (We don’t talk about The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor). I must admit I have not seen the originals for a while but I remember liking them whenever they were on TV. No doubt also from the first viewing of the trailer, I was a little disappointed about the leading actor. Tom Cruise is an alright actor and he did an alright job in this film but I felt like they just picked the most generic action lead actor just because they know it was going to bring the money rolling in.

A scene which I liked was when Nick and Dr Jekyll were in Dr Jekyll’s ‘office’ and we saw a bit of Mr Hyde before Mr Jekyll injected himself to keep him at bay. I think that was all we needed. Just a tiny sneak peek. I don’t think however they needed the fight scene between Mr Hyde and Nick. That was just way too over the top. I know there’s inevitably going to be a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde movie so that little taster would have been enough to open a window into another story in the Dark Universe. I don’t know whether it was me being oblivious or behind time but I wasn’t expecting Dr Jekyll to appear in the film which I thought was rather interesting and honestly made the film just a little bit better.

As much as I love Jake Johnson (New Girl is one of my all time favourite shows and he’s a little cutie), I think he was just thrown in for comedic effect. The whole ghost thing(?) didn’t really work for me. There honestly isn’t a great deal I actually liked about this film to be honest. I suppose the costuming and effects of Ahmanet were really cool and I loved the look of her. Wasn’t quite sure about the Crusades playing a part in the film either. I get the link between the two with the gem being hidden in the tomb of a Crusader but it just didn’t seem to... fit?

Overall, like I said, a slightly below average film for me. Aside from this, great special effects and it’s got me excited for the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde movie in the very distant future. I think Russell Crowe was an excellent choice for the role.

6/10

#The Mummy#Tom Cruise#Russell Crowe#Sofia Boutella#2017#movie review#film review#review#June

209) This Is England (2007) - (Spoilers)

Shaun (Thomas Turgoose), who lost his father in the Falklands War, earns the respect of skinheads when he stand up to their teasing. He becomes part of the gang and enjoys hanging out with his new friends. Trouble starts with the return of Combo (Stephen Graham), a racist ex-convict. With the gang divided into two factions, Shaun sides with Combo and, unfortunately, finds in him a father figure.

I must admit, this film has been on my list for some time. I was told it was a good film ages ago but just never got around to watching it. The only reason I watched it was because I wanted to watch the TV series but I was told by some people to watch the film first. I’m really glad I did get around to it though! This is an incredible film with at times very moving and shocking moments. I’ve always found an interesting in the skinhead culture and often thought about doing a photographic project based on them but I feel like it’s not so much had it’s time but I feel like the vibes will be totally different to when this was set in 1983 compared to now. A lot of the famous existing projects i’ve found were shot around in the 70s and 80s when the skinheads, mods and punks were existing. Plus it’s a so well done subject, it would be hard to stand out I feel.

In the beginning of the film we see Shaun who was being bullied at school and on his way home he comes across Woody and his friends. First off the bat, from this scene I liked Woody. I think the character is just so nice because skinheads of the time This Is England was set had a huge bad reputation for being hooligans that cause trouble and are nasty but Woody and his gang appear to show that that isn’t always the case. I love how quickly Woody takes Shaun under his wing and it really made me go ‘awww bless your heart’. I quite liked when Shaun had his hair shaved off and how lovely and welcoming the whole gang was. I think Woody is seen, or to me anyway, like an older brother figure which I absolutely love because I think it’s just what Shaun needed.

There was a particular scene in the cafe where Shaun’s Mum confronts the gang after Lol had shaved Shaun’s hair off. I really like the way Woody controlled it and sounded very mature. I think Woody is the natural leader of the group and you can see that. He could have a laugh and be silly but could also be serious. When we first see Combo at the party and he’s telling a story and being racist while Milky is in the room, I like how it showed each character’s face as they listen to the story and the way they all sort of look at each other. It’s at this time I think Woody should have said something. I wonder where the story would have taken had Combo not come back for a few more years? I do really like Joe Gilgun who plays Woody, I don’t think I could see anyone else playing him as successfully as him. He’s probably my favourite character from the whole thing.

I’m really glad I saw the film first before watching the TV series because it made sense to. This Is England ’86 picked up where it left off and there were things mentioned in the series that happened in the film. It almost made the film a prequel to This Is England ’86. One scene that made the series make more sense was when Combo had the conversation with Lol in his car and he confessed he still loved her but she didn’t like him back. I obviously this was my first introduction to this world of characters so I’m glad they kinda continued it onto the TV series because after this scene I kinda wanted to know what was going to happen next or whether what happened previously ever gets fully explained. And the series gave Lol a bit more of a voice because she didn’t speak a great deal. Having said all of this, I kinda prefer the film to all three series: ’86, ’88 and ’90.

I think as a standalone film it’s just simply a cinematic piece of genius. But it was nice to see something else was made from it. The cinematography of this film is beautiful and the colour palettes just work so wonderfully. I want to say this is an original idea but it’s been done in the past. I do see with this one however that there just seems to be something more interesting about it. The whole skinhead culture portrayed in this film showed both the good and bad people. I think towards the end of the film when it started to show more of what the reality of being a skinhead was all about. When I first watched this film (i’ve watched it twice now) the ending quite shocked me but at the same time didn’t surprise me. It was assumed that Combo and Milky were all good again but then Combo takes a turn which is where it shocked me but at the same time, Combo had it set in his way and was essentially still a racist.

With the added soundtrack of this film, a mixture of ska and classical pieces I think it worked even better. It’s unusual to mix those two genres together but I think they were quite particular about the pieces of music and that’s why I think it worked.

Overall this is a solid film with tough, hard hitting subjects but it’s so brilliantly portrayed, it’s become one of my favourite films. I would highly recommend you watch this film if you love cinematography like me but I would go into the film with an open mind. And if you have always wanted to watch the TV series (like I did) make sure you watch this film first. You don’t have to but it sure does make things a lot easier.

9/10

#This is England#Shane Meadows#movie review#film review#review

myyearinmovies

Jul 5, 2017

193)⋆ King Arthur: Legend of the Sword ⋆(17/5/2017) (Mild Spoilers)

After the murder of his father, young Arthur's power-hungry uncle Vortigern seizes control of the crown. Robbed of his birthright, he grows up the hard way in the back alleys of the city, not knowing who he truly is. When fate leads him to pull the Excalibur sword from stone, Arthur embraces his true destiny to become a legendary fighter and leader.

What a film! I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I can wholeheartedly say I was impressed with it. It left an impression on me because I think it was way better than I thought it was going to be and it’s not as bad as everyone made it out to be. I’m actually really upset it flopped in the box office.

First things first, Charlie Hunnam. I think he’s a fantastic actor. The only other thing I had seen him in was Crimson Peak before watching this and he was alright in that but much better in this. There’s a Tom Hardy ruggedness to him (the way he portrays Arthur in the film anyway) I think he’s got the same look to him and similar build. I think out of the two actors I think Tom Hardy could play Arthur but I think he’s a bit TOO rough and ready. I think there is a slight softness to Hunnam. Particularly with the slight humour that was added to the film, it fit really nicely and the persona Hunnam had portrayed Arthur with made me love him.The costuming also really suited him.

Other characters that stood out to me in the film: Jude Law. He did a solid job. He does play a good bad guy. When we saw what he had turned into by the end of it, his character was so perfectly done. I think Jude Law has a really good voice as well. It’s calming and yet he can be threatening. I think he could and should play more bad guys. Aidan Gillen: I feel like they shaved his beard off so he didn’t look as much like Petyr Baelish because the whole look of it was obviously very Game of Thrones and all I could think was Game of Thrones. However, I thought his character was good.

The cinematography for me was an absolute plus. I think Guy Richie did a wonderful job at directing it. The really fast pace movements reminded me of Guy Richie’s other two Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downy Jr. and Jude Law, both of which are fantastic for cinematography. It was the jarring movements that happened that really fit with the film. Something I also liked from this film was when they were thinking of a plan and then as they were saying it they kept switching back from the plan to what was actually happening. I thought this was really clever. They didn’t just use it for a plan but a few times where they were looking back on the past and then flicking forward. I feel like i’ve seen this technique in a film before but I can’t think of one off the top of my head.

The soundtrack again was an absolute plus. In some places I feel like again there was a feel of the Sherlock Holmes feel but in the soundtrack. It’s got similar violins and beats in certain parts. That’s probably why I enjoyed it because I love the music from both Sherlock Holmes movies. It’s almost as if Daniel Pemberton (which I had to look on spotify for the soundtrack as soon as I got home from seeing it) was going for a Hans Zimmer vibe. What I also liked from the soundtrack was it had the main sort of theme but then there was a lot of variety using different instruments and different beats and sounded different but still had a similar feel. It was a solid score soundtrack.

Overall, a fantastic film that I was surprised that I loved it as much as I did! If they were to do another one, I would hope they would bring in Merlin but if they don’t and leave it as it is, it’s a good stand alone movie.

8/10

#King Arthur Legend of the Sword#Charlie Hunnam#Jude Law#Aidan Gillen#May#2017#mild spoilers

myyearinmovies

Jul 5, 2017

180)⋆ Alien: Covenant (2017)⋆ - 12/5/2017 (Spoilers)

Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, members (Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup) of the colony ship Covenant discover what they think to be an uncharted paradise. While there, they meet David (Michael Fassbender), the synthetic survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. The mysterious world soon turns dark and dangerous when a hostile alien life-form forces the crew into a deadly fight for survival.

Despite controversy, I liked this one. I’m not afraid to admit I liked both this one and Prometheus. When we came out of the cinema, my friends said straight up that they thought it was boring. I on the other hand thought it was great!

When I first watched Prometheus I was on a binge watching all the other Alien films after being nagged at by my then flatmate. One character that I quite liked was David. David in Prometheus was a bit of a dark horse, mysterious even. I think because there was that mystery to him, it wanted me to find out more about him. I feel like with Alien: Convenant, you got a few answers but there’s still more questions that could be answered for the next Alien film. The bottom line is, David is a lil’ shit in this movie. I wasn’t actually expecting him to turn as much as he did. However despite him turning more into a bad guy than the previous film, I still kind of have some hope for him.

One thing scene that I did kind of appreciate/was ever so slightly creeped out by was where David taught Walter to play the pipe. I found it a little eerie but the point to it was that they were programmed to never be able to create and that David saw past that and realised he could. (This was my interpretation) I thought it was a cool thing to add. (Also, well done Ridley Scott for unleashing ALL of the David and Walter fan fictions with that kiss). I also quite liked Walter, don’t get me wrong. I ended up feeling a little sorry for him. Whether we will somehow by some miracle see him in the next one I’m not sure. Either way I wasn’t really expecting him to be completely left there. Although as soon as “Walter” got back to the ship, I had a hunch it was going to end up being David. It was a classic switcheroo.

There were a few things that got to me a little bit in a case of ‘LITERALLY ARE YOU DUMB?!’. One of those moments being where one of the guys (who the particles got into his body) who was being dragged to medical by the two ladies (I forget their names) and when he starts shaking uncontrollably, she leaves to go ring for help, locking the door and leaving the other lady in there as she went. When she came back, the alien had not ripped out of the guy’s body yet so she had plenty of time to get the trapped lady out and yet she chose to leave her in there?! I just didn’t think that worked.

As a filler film (which essentially what it is because there’s another one on the way and potentially a 4th film(?)) it works well. I can’t say I enjoyed it more than Prometheus but I think a few more characters from this one than the last one. That being Walter and I think it was a shame we didn’t get to see Elizabeth Shaw as well. Another thing I enjoyed was the special effects. The Aliens themselves this time looked really cool and I also liked the special effects of when they were floating in space towards the beginning of the film. Seeing this on the big screen really helped too because it looked incredible.

Overall, a solid film that I enjoyed.

7/10

#Alien Covenant#movie review#film review#review#may#2017

myyearinmovies

Jul 5, 2017

144) Bunny and the Bull (2009) - 24/4/2017 (Spoilers)

A shut-in loses track of the real and unreal as he uses his imagination to relive a traumatic road trip around Europe that he took with his friend (Simon Farnaby).

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I LOVE this film. If you are what I call a ‘cinematography whore’ like me, you will adore it. This is a cinematic piece of genius and no one can tell me otherwise! I feel like this film is a little hidden gem that I don’t think had enough press for. If you are really into arty, indie films (or Film 4 films) and are also a fan of The Mighty Boosh, you will like this as well. It’s a mixture of reality, animation and drawing. A way of explaining it would be think The Science of Sleep (which is another great film). I however prefer this one and I also saw Bunny and the Bull first, probably not long after it came out I believe. The reason I originally watched this film was because Simon Farnaby was in it and I was a big fan of Horrible Histories at the time (still am) of which he was in. I was also a somewhat fan of Noel Fielding too (not as much as I am into him now). I am hands down glad I watched this movie because it turned into one of my all time favourite films.

In the beginning of the film, we see the recluse, Stephen, not wanting to leave his house. He lived an OCD lifestyle of doing the same thing and eating the same thing day in, day out. I like that from the beginning we get hints as to why he didn’t want to leave the house. We saw him prepare to leave the house but as he unlocks the door we see small flashbacks, which was cool. When the film began to unwind, we come across Bunny who has, let’s face it, a gambling addiction and persuades Stephen to bet on the horses and classic moment, he wins. In a flashback Stephen looks back to meeting Bunny at a Captain Crab and it’s a mixture of animation and real life. They were sitting at drawings of tables and even the fish were all drawn. I REALLY loved this and i’m glad it continued throughout the film.

At the beginning of the film and maybe continuing into the rest of the film, I felt like Stephen was a bit drippy. I quite liked Bunny as a character because he was a little bit sleezy and was trying to be a laugh. I’m not so much a fan of Eloisa I don’t think. I quite liked Javier, her brother, just because it was Noel Fielding and his accent was hilarious. Atilla gave me the creeps a bit. (Sorry Julian Barratt!)

I think this film becomes more and more weird when we keep flicking back and forth from Stephen in his house remembering his suppressed memories. I think it worked really well as dreamlike transitions. Like for instance, there was a snow globe and as we look closer you see their car move up the mountain but it stayed like a model which I liked. There were a lot of things that looked like models to fit the dreamlike memories. For instance, I LOVED the fairground scene. I loved the intricacy of each moving element.

The cinematography. OH MAN. As well as the mixing of reality and dreamlike models and scenery, I LOVED the colours of this film and every shot gave me a little bit of a buzz. You can see so much time and effort went into the making of the film. The soundtrack as well just made this film even better which I didn’t think was possible! I ADORE IT. It is hands down one of my all time favourite soundtracks. It’s got variety to it but has the same tone and feel to it. Stephen’s theme makes me almost slightly emotional but I just love it as a piece of music. Because majority of the soundtrack is so calming, I like to listen to it while I work (i’m actually listening to it right now!)

THAT END SCENE. It builds up to Bunny hopping the fence and fighting the bull. I want to commend the special effects department of this film in the creation of the mechanical bull. I am in AWE. It looked so stunning and the way Bunny moved with such delicacy and grace it was like a dance. I also liked in the wings (because Stephen was still remembering what had happened so it was still in his head) that Stephen and the imaginary Bunny was sitting on the sofa from Stephen’s living room. It was genius. And I also liked the patchwork floor with the black open spaces and simple light on Bunny as he moved with the bull. What happened next absolutely broke my heart but then the rest of the film fell into place. I liked that Stephen had to remember and face his fears in order to move on with his life after being in this OCD and depression state. So in a way, it was a sad but nice ending.

I urge you ALL to watch this film. You really won’t regret it. It’s wonderful, weird, beautiful, stunning, funny, creepy and so unbelievably intriguing.

9/10

#bunny and the bull#Simon Farnaby#Edward Hogg#Noel Fielding#Jullian Barratt#movie review#film review#review#April#2017

myyearinmovies

Jun 9, 2017

130) Pretty in Pink (1986) - 18/4/2017 (Spoilers)

Andie (Molly Ringwald) is an outcast at her Chicago high school, hanging out either with her older boss (Annie Potts), who owns the record store where she works, or her quirky classmate Duckie (Jon Cryer), who has a crush on her. When one of the rich and popular kids at school, Blane (Andrew McCarthy), asks Andie out, it seems too good to be true. As Andie starts falling for Blane, she begins to realizes that dating someone from a different social sphere is not easy.

This is easily one of my all time favourite films and an instant pick me up. I bloody ADORE this film! It’s simply, in my opinion, one of the best 80s films out there and I love a lot of 80s films. Pretty in Pink is up there with The Breakfast Club for me and funnily enough, both are John Hughes movies and both feature one of the same actresses. Molly Ringwald plays the role in this film fantastically. It’s kind of interesting to see her go from one role as a popular princess of the school to another role who is essentially a nobody but is smart and only has a few friends. It’s because of this, I think it’s great that Molly Ringwald is able to play two polar opposite characters quite successfully. I think Molly Ringwald is almost a one hit wonder with her acting as the only movies that were a success and that she’s known for is Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink. Which i’m not saying is a bad thing because she is fabulous in all three!

Andie’s wardrobe. Let’s talk about that. I strangely love her wardrobe! There are some things I personally wouldn’t wear let alone be able to pull off but I think it was her that really got me into trying to find weird and wacky vintage clothes and to just go out and wear what you want to wear without minding what others think. There’s a significant line that was said towards the end of the film that really stands out for me (and probably others) and that is

“I just want them to know they didn’t break me.”

The reason this stands out for me is because it shows that despite all the heartache and upset that goes on throughout the film and indeed her life, that she comes out strong with her head held high. It was such a brave thing to do for the character and I think it really paid off for her. It almost by the end made me a little proud!

Duckie. Oh my gosh what a little cutie! Little baby Jon Cryer makes my heart melt. It kind of hurts the way Andie treats Duckie in the film because here he is, pining over this girl he’s known his whole life only to be trampled all over at times. Okay I admit, he can be a little whiny and clingy at times but I just want to hug him, pinch his cheek and tell him there’s plenty of fish in the sea. The way he treats her is just so cheesy but I adore it and it makes me want to pinch his cheeks even more! The little quips and cheesy talk has me dying.

(^^Could he get any cuter?!^^)

Then there’s the matter of his wardrobe. I think I actually love Duckie’s wardrobe more than Andie’s! I really want his white beaten up shoes. I love them so much! I am on the lookout for lookalike pair. It’s quite obvious that Duckie has taken his style of mismatch clothing and colours from Andie but added his own twist of bolo ties and pork pie hats. Just like Andie’s look I think Duckie’s is just as iconic.I can’t also not mention that iconic dance scene to Try A Little Tenderness by Otis Redding. What a scene! It’s daft and hilarious and just so like the character. Also that outfit from that scene is incredible. Most certainly a look. I find it a little bit of a shame that Jon Cryer didn’t do any more really successful films after this film. I think he’s only known for Pretty in Pink and Two and a Half Men.

Blane. Oh I’m not sure how I feel about this character. I find him a little bit of a wet cloth and I didn’t think he suited to Andie at all. I mean I see what Hughes was trying to do (the rich, attractive looking kid going for the outsider instead of all the tall, white, blonde girls in school. Breaking those stereotypes) but I just didn’t like their relationship. The one thing I dislike about this film is the ending. I always end up shouting at my TV “She picked the wrong person! She was meant to pick Duckie! WHYYYY!!!” I really don’t see why Andie went for Blane at the end of the film and Duckie let her. Apparently there was meant to be a scene where Andie and Duckie dance at the ball but had to be cut out because Molly Ringwald was really ill on the day of shooting. She even reportedly passed out on Jon Cryer. I would have killed to see that dance scene actually happen between them in the film.

(^^Well said Duckie!^^)

Overall, this is a great film and in fact one of my all time favourites. I urge you if ever you want a cheesy 80s pick me up film, this one is a great one to watch.

9/10

#Pretty in Pink#Molly Ringwald#Jon Cryer#1986#movie review#film review#review#april#2017

myyearinmovies

May 23, 2017

128) St Elmo’s Fire (1985) - 18/4/2017 (Spoilers)

A group of recent college graduates embark on a series of misadventures in the real world. There's Kirby (Emilio Estevez), a waiter who wants to be a lawyer; Kevin (Andrew McCarthy), a moody writer who yearns for the wild Jules (Demi Moore) ; Alec (Judd Nelson), whose political aspirations alienate his girlfriend, Leslie (Ally Sheedy) ; and Wendy (Mare Winningham), a quiet girl in love with Billy (Rob Lowe), who juggles roles as husband, dad and drunk. Together they grapple with adulthood.

St Elmo’s Fire is another one of those cheesy 80s films. I mean it came out a few months after The Breakfast Club and featured 3 members of The Breakfast Club: Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez. With this film it’s kind of hard to think that both films came out really close to one another, featured the same people but in this one it’s about college graduates and not high school students. Nelson, Sheedy and Estevez all actually look older in this film despite being filmed pretty much coincided with each other. Of course after these films it was the formation of what the media called ‘The Brat Pack’.

What I love about this film is that it is cheesy, it has that over the top cheesy theme song that gets played every second it gets, it’s got the cheesy romance, the gaudy 80s fashion, I mean it’s got every component for a 80s film. I love this film because it’s another one of those films people can relate to. Even though this one was not made by John Hughes, there are some similarities that aren’t just the fact three of them where in his film. Not really in the same way as The Breakfast Club but people can relate to the characters in the film. These people are graduates that are now trying to find themselves in adulthood. Certainly for myself watching it now I can almost sympathise with some of them.

There is so much drama that happens in this film that at times it felt a little over the top but I forgave it because it being the 80s. There’s the love triangles, the cheating, the crushes and to be honest, a lot of this film is based around love, another classic 80s thing to do in the movies. Personally, I thought it was slightly hard to believe all of these friends still stuck together by the end because they were all so different but it just felt like a lot of the characters were ready to move on from their college selves.

What I loved between the love triangle (Alec, Leslie and Kevin) is that despite what went on between Kevin and Leslie and even after Leslie split with Alec, that she decides to be on her own and focus on her career. I thought this was such a good choice for the direction of the character. She was a smart character and I think it would have been slightly disappointing had she of chosen one other the other. I did feel like there were quite a lot of plot lines to this film with it being a slightly big group of friends, slightly bigger than The Breakfast Club and I would say more complicated than that.

The soundtrack to the film was great! As if this film couldn’t be any more cheesy, the main song for the film is the ultimate cheese. I really liked the music video they did for it. I do love a good catchy theme song or just song in general and the first time I watched this, it hit my Awesome Mix spotify playlist faster than you could say “What a banger!”

This one is a short but sweet review, even though this one is one of my all time favourite films. It’s one of those films you could happily watch again and it’s so coming of age.

9/10

#St Elmo's Fire#Judd Nelson#Ally Sheedy#Demi Moore#Emilio Estevez#Rob Lowe#Andrew McCarthy#Mare Winningham#Andie MacDowell#movie review#review#film review#April#2017

myyearinmovies

May 22, 2017

127) The Breakfast Club (1985) - 17/4/2017 (Spoilers)

Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal (Paul Gleason). The disparate group includes rebel John (Judd Nelson), princess Claire (Molly Ringwald), outcast Allison (Ally Sheedy), brainy Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) and Andrew (Emilio Estevez), the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.

Forewarning this is goinig to be a long review, possibly my longest ever! This right here, at this point in time, is my ALL TIME FAVOURITE FILM! It’s just something so genius yet so simple. When I watched this film for the first time last summer, it was a film I had been meaning to get around to watching for many years but never did. I heard my Mum talk about it before and said it was big when she was growing up (She was 14 when this film first came out) but just never watched it. I think watching this film was certainly no regrets! It was because of this film I got into the 80s fully. I mean there were a few 80s films that I grew up with (i.e. The Time Bandits, Labyrinth, The Goonies, The Princess Bride the list could go on) but I never really appreciated how good the 80s really was for film. I think it’s hands down my favourite decade of film. From this film, I ended up going on a 80s film binge, re watching my childhood favourites and watching the ones I never got around to watching and especially the John Hughes classics.

For me, this film is something that seems like it wouldn’t be too relatable until the story unravels. What I love about this film is it’s the film that the younger generation (i.e. arguably my age, 21 and below) who feel like no one listens to them and no one understands them because they’re too young. There is probably an element of every character that the audience can not only sympathise but also relate to in either themselves or in other people they know. At the very beginning of the film we see the David Bowie quote from his song Changes:

“...and these children that you spit on, as they try and change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They’re quite aware of what they’re going through.”

From this quote I think it opens the discussion of the film. There are 5 stereotypical students from one high school. The Princess, The Athlete, The Basket Case, The Brain and The Criminal. I think because they are 5 stereotypes, you expect that they won’t get along and the only thing they have in common is the fact they’re in detention on a Saturday. But in fact they have everything in common, people, i.e. parents, teacher etc don’t listen to them, they’re treated like children, they each have their own pressures in their own bizarre ways.

One thing that stood out to me is that each character has so many layers of clothing. Bender has an overcoat, scarf, denim jacket. Claire has a leather jacket, scarf and gloves. Andrew has a jacket, hoodie, thermal shirt, vest. Brian has a coat, hat, scarf. Perhaps the most interesting is that Alison has just a coat and keeps on the big jumper and scarf. As they become more comfortable with one another, the layers begin to peel back. I thought that was such a nice touch.

There is almost an intimacy because there are only 5 main characters in the whole film (7 if you include the Mr Vernon and the Janitor) which I absolutely love because we can take more of the characters in and learn every revealing trait each character has to offer. I really love films with a limited cast because of this. It’s so rich in variety but like I previously said, there are elements of every character that people can relate to. Because of this, I think that’s why this film made such an impact on the youth especially.

There were so many deep moments to the film as we learn about these characters and also deep quotes. A few of my favourites are:

“We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are better at hiding it, that’s all.” - Andrew

“If you say you haven’t you’re a prude. If you say you have you’re a slut. It’s a trap.” – Alison

“Screws fall out all the time; the world is an imperfect place.” – Bender

I love all of those quotes because it’s something i’ve noticed in all of John Hughes movies that he tends to have really deep, meaningful and most of all unforgettable lines. With these ones, I think they have stuck with me ever since I first watched the film. I feel like Andrew’s quote is probably the most prominent to me and i’m sure many people younger than me who are still trying to find their path to follow (i’m still trying to find my way at aged 21) and we all do things to try and fit in with people and crowds and there are certain things that you might keep secret from people because you think it’s weird or un cool. Some people embrace that weirdness and show it off. With these people in the film, it shows that people like Andrew and Claire have strict ways of living in their social groups whereas people like Brian and Alison are more mysterious and try not to show their weirdness but at the same time embrace it. Bender is a little bit of a dark horse I think. He shows it off but he makes people scared of him so no one would really say anything. People are all built the same but work differently and that’s why I think that quote is one of the most important quotes from the film.

I know a lot of the film was not scripted and was literally them sitting in a circle talking in character with the cameras rolling which makes it all the more better. I’m unsure what was scripted and what wasn’t (I have a clue with some of it because i’ve read a lot into it). I found out that John Hughes originally wanted this film to be 2 and half hours long and I know the full film exists somewhere but was never released. I would have been totally okay with it being that long though. It almost felt like in that hour and half you were one of them, sat down with them.

Probably my favourite character out of the 5 of them was Bender. I don’t normally go for the bad guys but I think this one slid because I think with Bender it wasn’t the case he was a bad guy. He was pretending to be a bad guy. Think of it the way a normal bully is – they usually pick on other people for the problems they have going on in their own lives. Bender does this. However, every time he appears to let his guards down, he immediately shuts them back up. This is apparent with is relationship with Claire in the film. From the off there seemed to be an attraction between the two characters and what made it more interesting to me was because of their social status, it was almost slightly like a Romeo and Juliet situation. They’re relationship would be doomed because of the people they hang out with. I mean think about the main theme song written for the film.

“Will you stand above me? Call my name or walk on by?” There was a really touching part of the film where Brian asks what would happen on Monday and would they all be friends. Claire gave the honest truth of no and then was criticised by Bender. I feel like Bender was almost deliberately being cruel to be kind because as soon as Bender is horrible to Claire to the point of tears on her part, Claire says she would never be like her parents and Bender almost nods as if to say “Good on you.” The tension between Claire and Bender was almost actually quite nice. They’re mean to one another but at times you see locking of eyes, little secret corner smiles and of course THAT ENDING. My heart melted.

Before that ending what I think was a nice touch on John Hughes part was that Bender mentioned the diamond earrings that Claire was wearing and how she was so stuck up which was true but at the same time, not. And then at the end of the movie, she gives Bender the diamond earring. It was almost a thing of “look I can prove i’m not like that. I can prove i’m not that person you think I am”. And it always kills me to see Bender’s little ‘did that just happen?’ look on his face and how can we forget the fist pump right at the end of the film. It kills me every time.

The other unlikely relationship was Andrew and Alison. Although the hints that they were going to be a thing by the end of the film were a lot less obvious, I still think it was nice that they did get together. It’s probably an even more unlikely relationship than Claire and Bender because of the social statuses but I like that John Hughes made social statuses go out the window and in the library, in detention, they were all equal.

Another thing to briefly mention is the soundtrack. What a BANGER of a soundtrack! Don’t You (Forget About Me) is one of my all time favourite songs. I’m so glad Simple Minds sung it. They aren’t too bad of a band. There’s so much meaning in that song for me and for me the connection is university. It reminds me of university and my flatmates and my time there. I remember the first time in a long time I had heard it when I was making a playlist of 70s/80s/90s tracks in first year with my flatmate at the time. We bonded over that song (That’s not our song though. That’s Anyway You Want It by Journey, we would sing that through the walls at each other when we lived together). I even sung it to him as I moved out of my flat in first year after saying I would for months before I did move out. It makes me almost slightly emotional listening to it and remembering my time at university.

I like to imagine what would have happened on Monday when they got to school. Did Claire go to Andrew’s party that Saturday night? Did Andrew and Claire ever speak about what happened during the day at that party? Did Claire tell any of her friends about Bender? Because of what happened in detention, did Claire decide on rebelling, leaving her so called friends that made her miserable or did she turn up to school on the Monday as if Saturday didn’t happen? Did Bender tell his friends about Claire? Did Andrew and Allison do the same? Will Claire and Bender and Andrew and Alison stay together? Will they all, including Brian ACTUALLY stay friends? So many questions I have on my mind about it. It’s almost left to interpretations which I like. As much as I wish this film would have been longer, I’m glad there was never a sequel. It didn’t need it.

There are many more things about this film I love, but I don’t think I need any more evidence to tell you that this is indeed my favourite film. I adore it.

10/10

#The Breakfast Club#John Bender#Judd Nelson#Claire Standish#Molly Ringwald#Andrew Clark#Emilio Estevez#Allison Reynolds#Brian Johnson#Anthony Michael Hall#movie review#review#film review#April#2017

myyearinmovies

May 21, 2017

121) Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) - 14/4/2017 (Mild Spoilers)

Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton), whose late father secretly worked for a spy organization, lives in a South London housing estate and seems headed for a life behind bars. However, dapper agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth) recognizes potential in the youth and recruits him to be a trainee in the secret service. Meanwhile, villainous Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) launches a diabolical plan to solve the problem of climate change via a worldwide killing spree.

What a film! This is certainly a great one. It’s a classic spy film but I think it steps away from the whole James Bond thing. Certainly I think there was a tiny piece of inspiration but it’s taking it from a completely different angle. I mean I’m not totally into James Bond and i’m really picky with my spy films, but really liked this one. This film is totally British and I feel like it was more made for British audiences. I’m not sure how it did elsewhere outside the UK but I know that the sequel is highly anticipated now. One thing that stands out for me is that the film goes out of its way to show the audience that someone from not a rich upbringing can achieve great things. We see Eggsy a guy who’s father had died and mother is with an abusive boyfriend and he constantly is causing trouble for himself. There’s a rival gang of lads who Eggsy despises but it isn’t until Eggsy is arrested is when the plot begins to get interesting.

Going back to what I said about someone from a poor upbringing could achieve, when Eggsy first got to the initiation, he really managed to prove that he didn’t need a Cambridge degree to be smart. Taron Egerton for me was a perfect person for the role. He was able to successfully show he could go from chav to Kingsman worthy. This is the first thing I saw Taron Egerton and I feel like it’s Kingsman (both the first one and the oncoming sequel) will be the ones to path out his acting career. (He then went on to star alongside Tom Hardy in Legend and Hugh Jackman in Eddie The Eagle). I expect he’s got a few more things on the horizon after this.

Colin Firth as a Kingsman just makes sense. He suits the role so much! The suit with the good wit, charm and suaveness all slots together just all too well. Colin Firth and Taron Egerton’s chemistry gelled together as well just right. Harry (Colin Firth) appeared as this father type figure to Eggsy which totally worked. I can’t wait to see what happens in the sequel. Even having Michael Cane in the film just made sense. He’s got a look about him that has stayed consistent throughout his acting career: suave with charm, like Firth. He just really suited a spy but I think he does kind of suit a bad guy too.

One of my favourite scenes is the scene where Harry is in the church and there’s a massive shootout. The filming of that scene really had me. It was just super fantastically done that I commend the people who made the film for it. I think it was a really nice thing to add to the movie.

I think perhaps a downside to the film/slight advantage would be Samuel L Jackson’s character. The advantage is: I like Samuel L Jackson. He’s a great actor and he usually improves a film just by being in it. The disadvantage: The character was a bit of a letdown. I guess without the character the plot wouldn’t have happened but there was just something about the character that just let it down. I think it might have been that all he is was rich and created the chips. Yeah I get he was pretty powerful because he managed to get majority of the world to get them but that was generally it. And the character was a wimp that got his kickass secretary to do all the cool fighting for him. If the character had done a bit of fighting too, perhaps I would have liked the character a little more.

Overall, I think this is a solid movie. If you like spy films that isn’t completely serious all the time, this one is a must for you. I am looking forward to the sequel.

8/10

#Kingsman The Secret Service#Kingsman#Colin Firth#Taron Egerton#Michael Cane#Samuel L Jackson#movie review#film review#review

myyearinmovies

May 21, 2017

117) ⋆ What We Do In The Shadows (2014)⋆ - 12/4/2017 (Mild Spoilers)

Vampire housemates (Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh) try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) some of the perks of being undead.

First of all with this film, it’s not one to take seriously. This is nothing but a pisstake. From the very off, it’s filmed in a documentary style without the voiceover. I’d say it’s basically filmed like The Office. So if you like The Office and you like vampires, you’ll like this one. I personally love spoof films. Some are better than others but this one is definitely one that makes it to the top of the list. It’s just a really dumb, silly and fun film with dumb laughs.

It’s nothing but awkwardness and looking into the camera a lot of the time. Viago (Taika Waititi) is the main person explaining about vampires and how they live. At the very start of the film, Viago seems to be the leader of the group while he shows us what they do on a daily basis like waking up all of his flatmates (which I think was a funny way of introducing each character) and what makes me laugh is they argue over doing mundane chores like washing up and hoovering like a normal flat of friends but the thing is they’re meant to be friends but at the same time it doesn’t feel like they’re friends and just put up with living with one another because of who they are.

What I like about them is each person has a different history and they all appear to come from different times. For instance, Deacon turned out to be part of Hitler’s secret vampire army and made a Nazi joke. This one surprised me but it did make me laugh a little given the context of it (It’s easier if you watched it). Possibly the most mysterious of the group is Petyr, the Nosferatu looking character who took a surprising towards the end of the film. (Yes, that is a gif of Viago brushing Petyr’s teeth.) I think what makes it funnier about the group is it being set in New Zealand. I don’t think I can take the accent seriously sometimes. And perhaps I think this film would have been too obvious to set in America. It made it a little more unusual to set it in New Zealand.

As far as the authenticity of the type of vampire, I love that they stuck with the whole ‘vampire’s can’t see their reflections, they rely on human blood, they can’t go out in sunlight’ etc but they put their own spin on it. For instance, because they can’t see themselves in the mirror, they draw pictures of each other to show what they look like but the drawings are nothing more than stick figures. That cracked me up!Because this film isn’t made to be taken seriously and is filmed the way it has been, I think it is genius! I’ve not seen anything done like this in the style it had been done in.

This is a really short review, but overall, if you haven’t seen this film and want a dumb movie to laugh at, this is a good one.

8/10

#What We Do In The Shadows#April#2017#movie review#review#film review

myyearinmovies

May 7, 2017

108) Legend (2015) - (2/4/2017) (Spoilers)

Suave, charming and volatile, Reggie Kray (Tom Hardy) and his unstable twin brother Ronnie (also Tom Hardy) start to leave their mark on the London underworld in the 1960s. Using violence to get what they want, the siblings orchestrate robberies and murders while running nightclubs and protection rackets. With police Detective Leonard "Nipper" Read hot on their heels, the brothers continue their rapid rise to power and achieve tabloid notoriety.

First about this film, hands down, I enjoyed this film more than I thought I was going to initially. It is totally British which is what I absolutely love about it. The Kray Twins are a really interesting subject and because it being a totally British film about the true British gangsters of the 60s, I don’t think it would cater to the American or Hollywood audiences. I find it a little odd that us Brits will love an American gangster film and they do equally or a little less good than the American audiences and than a British gangster film being show in America. I guess that’s the way that the media works. There are many aspects of this film I adored and I will now explain them.

The portrayal of the Kray’s was fantastic. I’ve watched real interviews of the Kray’s and I must admit Tom Hardy NAILED the performance as both Reggie and Ronnie. The way that the characters and the way Tom Hardy acted made you feel sorry for both Reggie and Ronnie (Reggie was trying to be good, Ronnie was mentally ill) and then they take that away and make you feel slightly disappointed but not surprised because they were and notorious gangsters (Reggie went back to prison twice and Ronnie ran down the club while Reggie was banged up and killed a man). I don’t think they could have chosen a better person to play the two twins. It was a surprise and must have been a hell of a lot of work for Tom Hardy to even take on the role let alone do it so well. I commend him for being able to portray both twins and make the audience really believe it is two separate people. It’s not an easy task. And as for some of the things that happen in the film (example: the fight between Reggie and Ronnie after Reggie gets out) must have been difficult to do but it paid off.

I like that there are some laughs in there as well. For a quite serious story, themes and topics, I think it needed a few laughs to break it up a bit and they were done in such a way that they worked really well. Another thing was that the firs time I watched this film back when it first came out, I walked into the film not knowing it was an 18 (my friends just wanted to go and I liked Tom Hardy so I just went without knowing really what it was about) and it shows. I mean the themes are quite obviously for adults with unlimited amounts of every colourful language and violence and such. But like I say, I went into it oblivious about what it was about so there we go.

Emily Browning. What a little star. She was fantastic as Frances. I thought she did such a nice job but it was a little weird for me seeing her in this because the last thing I saw her play was Violet in A Series of Unfortunate Events. I must admit I am rather jealous of her wardrobe too. Such pretty outfits I wish I could own. As for the character herself, little is known about the actual Frances but according to what I have read, Frances in the film wasn’t that true to real life. Whether this information is actually true or not i’m not sure but you’ve got to admit, films do like to make things overdramatic where things aren’t dramatic in films about real life. So if it’s true that Frances in the film wasn’t true to real life, it doesn’t surprise me they overhyped it.

What I did like was how they built everything as this fun thing then gradually towards the last half/three quarters of the film, the cracks began to show even more and we saw the harsh reality of what it was like to be a gangster in London in the 60s. And as for the relationship between Frances and Reggie, it began as this nice little thing that I liked but as soon as Frances got more comfortable and got the ring on her finger, she began to see the cracks and what it was like to be a gangster’s wife. It was quite a sad ending for Frances and it saddened me that she resorted to what she did.

The cinematography was a really nice part of it too. The colour palettes were fantastic. There weren’t any particular panning or anything that stood out for me but I did like some of the different shots. They were quite beautiful. The editing was rather clever too and seamless when both Kray’s were stood next to one another. As for the soundtrack: WHAT A SOUNDTRACK! Some excellent 60s music mixed in with the score composed by the amazingly talented Carter Burwell. The pieces of 60s music I ADORED was the singer Duffy’s cover of Are You Sure? and Make The World Go Away that was originally sung by Timi Yuro. It was beautiful and it was eerie how much Duffy looked and sounded like Timi Yuro. The score music really suited the vibe of the film, it was moody and slow paced and kinda jazzy which I quite liked too. For original pieces of music, it’s not bad.

The other performances by people such as Taron Egerton, briefly Colin Morgan, Christopher Eccleston and briefly Paul Bettany can’t go unnoticed as they were all really good as well.

Overall, Legend is an above average film that I thoroughly enjoyed and I enjoy every time I re watch it. Personally I think Tom Hardy didn’t get enough recognition for his role but in my mind it’s one of my favourites of his performances. I honestly think it’s one of my all time favourite films.

9/10

#Legend#Tom Hardy#Emily Browning#Taron Egerton#Colin Morgan#Christopher Eccleston#Paul Bettany#Reggie Kray#Ronnie Kray#The Kray Twins#April#2017#movie review#review#film review

myyearinmovies

May 7, 2017

Film update:

I’ve seen 65 films since I last did a review. I’m currently snowed under with university work so I won’t be doing a review of every single one of them but instead, picking out some favourites and doing some i’ve wanted to talk about.

The films i’ve watched since Free Fire:

Legend (2015), Sing Street (2016) ⋆, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008), Eddie The Eagle (2016) ⋆, Woman In Black (2012), Shrek 2 (2004), Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-rabbit (2005), Taxi Driver (1976), The Shining (1980) ⋆, What We Do In The Shadows (2014) ⋆ , Dredd (2012) ⋆, Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), La La Land (2017), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Rogue One (2016), Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005), The Evil Dead (1981) ⋆, Poltergeist (1982) ⋆, Legend (1985) ⋆, The Breakfast Club (1985), St Elmo’s Fire (1985), The Return of the Living Dead (1985) ⋆, Pretty In Pink (1986), Life (2015) ⋆, Tootsie (1982), Videodrome (1983) ⋆, Krull (1983) ⋆, The Outsiders, 1983), Gremlins (1984), A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) ⋆, Crocodile Dundee (1986), The Belko Experiment (2017) ⋆, Bugsy Malone (1976), Platoon (1986) ⋆, Alien (1979) ⋆, Aliens (1986) ⋆, Bunny and the Bull (2009), The Fly (1986) ⋆, Big Trouble In Little China (1986) ⋆, Full Metal Jacket (1987) ⋆, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) ⋆, Rain Man (1988) ⋆, IT (1990), Prometheus (2012) ⋆, Schindler’s List (1993) ⋆, Reservoir Dogs (1993) ⋆, Groundhog Day (1993) ⋆, Goodfellas (1990) ⋆, Total Recall (1990) ⋆, Passengers (2016) ⋆, The Silence of the Lambs (1991) ⋆, Speed (1994), Waterworld (1995) ⋆, The Birdcage (1996) ⋆, Starship Troopers (1997) ⋆, Event Horizon (1997) ⋆, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) ⋆, Blade (1998) ⋆, The Sixth Sense (1999), Fight Club (1999) ⋆, Sleepy Hollow (1999), American Beauty (1999) ⋆, Requiem For A Dream (2000) ⋆, American Psycho (2000) ⋆, Unbreakable (2000) ⋆

#Hoping to get a couple up at some point soon.#Hold fire gang#films#reviews#review#movie review

myyearinmovies

Apr 3, 2017

107)⋆ Free Fire (2017)⋆ - (1/4/2017) (Mild Spoilers)

Justine brokers a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two Irishmen and a gang led by Vernon and Ord, who intend to sell them a stash of guns. But when shots fire during the handover, complete pandemonium ensues, with everyone at the scene suddenly thrust into a heart-stopping game of survival.

I like this film. I think it is a solid film. I’ve said in previous reviews that I love Film 4 films and I did really like this one! First impressions of it: I kind of went into the movie expecting it to be as big and epic as the movie trailer made it out to be and I was expecting loads of cool music, what with it being set in the 70s. But truth is it was a little less than my expectations. Don’t get me wrong it still was pretty high speed and I have a few things about it that explains why I gave it a 7/10 despite it being lower than my expectations, starting off with the good points.

First off, the practical effects and editing: I REALLY loved them. I thought the gun shots were really awesome and looked quite real and effective.

The characters: I think in terms of it being set in one big room with a bunch of people shooting one another made it more intimate. I love small cast films and I think this is something they did really well. There was a range of diversity in them too but at the same time they had one thing in common and that was the guns. I don’t think I could narrow it down to one favourite character but I did like the South African guy (Vernon – Sharlto Copley) which I liked because it was kind of a surprise what else was going to tumble out of his mouth. There was an element of humour about the character which I liked. Stevo (Sam Riley) the Brooklyn sounding sleezeball and the general village idiot of the group which I think he added even more humour to the mix without realising he was doing it. Another character I liked was Ord (Armie Hammer). The reason I liked him because he was so suave and cool about what was happening that it felt like it didn’t really bother him. I think the humour in this film is something that also saved it. It took a serious situation and made it a little lighter with a few jokes here and there. However saying that, it wasn’t as funny as the trailer made it out to be.

Costuming: With it being the 70s, it’s just great. There’s nothing more I can say. Each costume complimented each person perfectly.

The colour palettes: OH YES. Bloody loved it! The yellow tones throughout the whole thing were beautiful. It’s certainly something I noticed straight away in this film.

The cinematography: For me the cinematography was slightly let down. It wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be. Don’t get me wrong there were occasions where there were some good shots, one for me was when we got a down the barrel of the gun view. I thought it was a clever use of it.

The Soundtrack: It was okay. That’s all I can really say on that one. There were a few really good ones I recognised but like I previously said, I was expecting some other 70s classics mixed into the film. Like Run through the Jungle by Creedence Clearwater Revival is a banger of a song but I was expecting more Earth, Wind & Fire and bit of maybe The Clash? See what I mean? There were at times where there was no music where I think that could have been aided with music. Kong: Skull Island that came out recently was based in the 70s too and I think because I saw that and how they had an awesome 70s soundtrack, I was kind of expecting the same in this one.

The plot itself: It’s nice and simple, I really liked it. It was clever; it was a pretty cool concept. I love smaller casts with narrowed down spaces. I feel like you can connect and understand the characters a bit more. I liked that there were no flashbacks to the characters which I was kind of expecting to explain how they got there but I think they did well not to do it because it would have over complicated matters. I like that we kind of had to kind of guess them. The film was a bit more brutal than I was expecting! (reference to what happens to Stevo - you’ll know if you’ve seen it/if you see it)

Overall, I think it’s a solid, great film. It’s clever and brilliant and if you get a chance to see it (for those in the UK because it’s only just come out here) do go and see it. It’s pretty awesome.

7/10

#Free Fire#Enzo Cilenti#Sam Riley#Michael Smiley#Brie Larson#Cillian Murphy#Armie Hammer#Sharlto Copley#Babou Ceesay#Noah Taylor#Jack Reynor#Movie Reviews#Review#April#2017

myyearinmovies

Mar 23, 2017

72)⋆ Logan (2017)⋆ - (2/3/2017) (Spoliers)

In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.

Oh man what a film! First of all; the plot. I think one of the things I found quite nice was the fact they didn’t overdo the plot seeing as it’s Wolverine’s (supposedly) last film. Because they could have gone all out and made it this big extravaganza but they didn’t which I think worked really well. Bringing in a girl who had the same powers as Logan and who we inevitably find out that she is his daughter but, I think they didn’t have to keep mentioning it. I think they could have mentioned it once and then got on with it because if you ask me, it was pretty obvious there was a connection anyway i.e. the massive claws. I did think however the young girl, and Hugh Jackman worked really well together and it’s a shame they didn’t get a future together.

Charles Xavier. Oh boy, this one broke my heart. I did however love how upbeat Xavier was being and that he hadn’t lost his humour. But the way they killed him off was so heartbreaking. I was welling up! I mean I knew he was going to go in this one and I didn’t want it to be true but I didn’t think he was going to go the way he did. I just thought that they could have put a little more effort into it seeing as he is such a big character. (Yes I know that it’s Wolverine’s film and it’s all about him but Xavier is the reason Logan is still around, without Xavier, who knows what would have happened to Logan and what path he could have taken. Xavier was always the one to make sure he was going right.) Xavier mentioned when they were in the house that “this is what it is like to have a house and a family” and in that moment I could just could imagine Xavier, Logan and Laura having a home together but then I knew that this film wasn’t going to end like that, all happy, which is the reason it saddened me.

That brings me to Logan, constantly throughout this film Logan had a look of ‘i’m getting too old for this shit’. I must admit obviously Hugh Jackman knocked it out the park with his superb acting as Logan. He played it so convincingly because as we all know, this is a character Jackman has been playing for 17 years now and he’s still so good at it. There was a lot of passion I think went into playing the role and you could just feel like he was giving it his all even though he had the ‘i’m getting too old for this shit’ look. That’s why the ending for Logan, was heartbreaking to see really. Throughout the film we see this big character slowly dying before our eyes, with a soul crushing ending.

I ended up re watching the old X-Men movies and then the new ones recently (because I had only seen Apocalypse and not First Class or Days of Future Past because I didn’t like the old X-Men movies) and I can most certainly say I prefer the newer X-Men movies over the old ones. In a way i’m kinda glad that the old timeline doesn’t exist anymore.

Overall, I think you should all see this film. There are a few references here and there about the previous Wolverine and indeed X-Men films but I don’t think it’s completely necessary to watch all of them before watching Logan in order to get it. It’s a nice stand alone.

7/10

#Logan#Wolverine#Charles Xavier#Logan spoilers#Hugh Jackman#Patrick Stewart#movie review#film review#review
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