Oct 22 2021

Bull (2021) Movie Review ‘Relentlessly Violent Revenge Tale’

Bull – Relentlessly Violent Revenge Tale

 

Director: Paul Andrew Williams

Writer: Paul Andrew Williams (Screenplay)

Starring: Neil Maskell, David Hayman, Tamzin Outhwaite, Elizabeth Counsell

Plot: Bull mysteriously returns home after a 10 year absence to seek revenge on those who double crossed him all those years ago.

Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Bull starts when Bull (Maskell) returns to town, looking for answers about his son Aiden. Bull looks up his old connections from when he worked under ruthless mob boss Norm (Hayman), Bull starts working through the former friends.

Norm who has kept his life in order since an incident 10-years ago, needs to figure out how to clear up the problem before too many people in his crew get killed, scared that his past might finally catch up with him.

Thoughts on Bull

Characters & Performances – Bull is the former hard man for local mobster, married to his daughter, who has returned after years away, looking for answers, releasing his revenge on the people that wronged him. Bull is a relentless figure that isn’t stopping till he gets what he wants, he will hurt people in the most violent way possible. Neil Maskell gives us a haunting performance, one that shows just how cold his character has become. Norm is the ruthless mod boss that has complete control over the town, he is left shocked when it comes to the return of Bull, wanting to stop this before it spirals out of control. David Hayman is excellent again, following up his frightening performance in The Ballad of Billy McCrae. When it comes to the supporting cast, we will get the typical former mobster who have tried to move away from that life, know the regret they have been through.

Story – The story here follows a man returning to his home town to get revenge on the people that wronged him in the past, a return that will see him relentlessly look for the answers. This is a story that will play out from the opening sequence to the final shot in a violent way in what is a simple idea, one man wanting to find out where his son is. This doesn’t want to stop letting us know the complete outcome of why Bull has returned too early, with us seeing how he will hurt people when he is the right hand man for Norm. the whole tracking down, will give us a serious of intense sequences, played hand in hand with the flashbacks to the connection between the people.

Themes – Bull is a mystery thriller that will bring the action in the revenge actions Bull does to the people he knows wronged him in the past. The violence involved is brutal to watch, with the special effects team needing all the praising for making everything look so realistic.

Signature Entertainment presents Bull exclusively at UK Cinemas from 5th November

Final Thoughts – Bull is a truly relentless revenge thriller, never holding back.

Oct 22 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Horror – V – Vanishing on 7th Street (2010) Movie Review

Director: Brad Anderson

Writer: Anthony Jaswinski (Screenplay)

Starring: Hayden Christensen, John Leguizamo, Thandie Newton, Jacob Latimore, Taylor Groothuis, Jordan Trovillion

Plot: The population of Detroit has almost completely disappeared, but a few remain. As daylight disappears they realize that the Dark is coming for them.


Tagline – Stay in the light

Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Nice Little Horror Mystery

Story: Vanishing on 7th Street starts on a normal day in Detroit, when a sudden power outage sees Paul (Leguizamo), Luke (Christensen), Rosemary (Newton) and James (Latimore) find themselves alone, using what little light they can find, while the rest of the city seems to have vanished within an instant in the darkness.

The four find themselves meeting in a bar running on a generator which sees them try to figure out what is happening and why they haven’t been taken by the darkness.

Thoughts on Vanishing on 7th Street

Characters – Luke is a reporter that moved to the city to start his own career, his partner is a weather girl, he wakes up and goes out in the day seeing everybody gone, he does seem to be one of the only ones that has been thinking of a plan, thought it does make him very blunt with his responses to anything the others think. Paul is working in a cinema when the incident happens, his headlight is the only thing that keeps him safe from the danger he could face. He is injured by the time the group gets together, where he offers an idea to what is happening. Rosemary is a mother that has lost her baby in the incident, she wants not more than to find him even if she does know the horrible truth. James is the youngest member of the survivors, he is waiting for his mum to return before deciding whether he wants safety or not.

Performances – Hayden Christensen continued to try and rebuild his career with this leading role performance, where he does everything with ease, without feeling like a true lead in the film, John Leguizamo and Thandie Newton does their roles well enough, while young Jacob Latimore is the highlight of the four stars.

Story – The story here follows four strangers that find themselves as the only people alive after an unexplained sudden darkness which has made everybody vanish instantly. This does create an interesting world where darkness is pure evil and light will always become harder to hold onto to try and survive, it does play into a story of a boat which appeared after crossing the ocean with a message and nobody on board, which would and is something that could be studied and guess about too. The way the story unfolds is rather generic in how it all flows, with the people needing to do certain tasks which become more dangerous and let the darkness get closer.

Horror/Mystery – The horror comes from the darkness, which does show how it is slowly moving towards people who are losing the lights in the world, with everything looking like a figure approaching, while the mystery is more about why this is happening, though it never seems to lead to a true answer.

Settings – The film is set in Detroit which sees most of the time being set in the bar trying to figure out what is happening, before we get the we get the haunting scenes of empty streets or stores.

Special Effects – The film uses the effects well, to make the darkness feel like figures waiting for the light to go.


Scene of the Movie – Car light save.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – That plane moment.

Final Thoughts – This is an interesting horror that brings a fresh sudden scare to it, with the darkness being waiting for a chance to finish taking the population.

Overall: Darkness Simmers

Oct 21 2021

Dune (2021) Movie Review ‘Epically Breath Taking’

Dune – Epically Breath Taking

 

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Writer: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth (Screenplay) Frank Herbert (Novel)

Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Rebeccas Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgard, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling

Plot: Feature adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel, about the son of a noble family entrusted with the protection of the most valuable asset and most vital element in the galaxy.


Tagline – It Begins

Runtime: 2 Hours 35 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Dune starts when house Atreides Duke Leto (Isaac), Lady Jessica (Ferguson) and their son Paul (Chalamet) are assigned to a new dangerous planet Arrakis, formerly run by the ruthless Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Skarsgard), who isn’t happy about being replaced on the planet.

With Duke Leto looking to create peace with the natives, he sees his house come under attack, leading to Paul and Jessica needing to learn about the desert planet if they are ever going to be able to fight back.

Thoughts on Dune

Characters & Performances – Paul Atreides is the son of the Duke, he has been dealing with dreams about Arrakis before ever being there, seeing death coming along with a mysterious stranger in the dreams. He isn’t prepared to takeover, constantly learning from everyone around him. Lady Jessica is Paul’s mother that has gifted him her own powers, ones that can control people, she knows the threat this could if in the wrong hands, she will always put his safety first. This is a film that spends a lot of time on the characters, showing how most are important to Paul, be it people that trained him, people that have wronged him or the people he is dreaming off. The acting in the film is strong with most needing to remain on the calmer side of things, with only Jason Momoa enjoying the freedom to break this at times.

Story – The story here follows the son of a ruler that sees his family set to a dangerous planet where they are betrayed, leaving him to use the skills he has obtained in his young life to put together his plans to get revenge and bring a peace to the universe. This is only the beginning of the mega saga, opting to create the characters around Paul, with a couple of massive set pieces, diving into what is important in showing his journey, the people that are after him and the Spice, as well as being about throwing us into a world, with so much more to see. This is a story that will have everything you want from an introduction film, creating the sides and showing the early signs of what Paul could become.

Themes – Dune is the spectacular sci-fi movie that we have waited for this year, it creates a massive world, with Arrakis being the planet with little known other than danger, the centre of the greed within the emperor’s reign. This is a visually treat, with gorgeous scenery for the open spaces, while keeping the darker toner for the enclosed ones. The battle sequences might well look like everything we have seen before, the defence suits have a unique look, which has shown the improvement in the special effects since the original, with the grand appearance of the worms, being what will leave you jaw dropping.

Final Thoughts – Dune is the most beautiful visual experience of the year, making you want to come back for more.