Jun 28 2017

Chariots of Fire (1981)

Director: Hugh Hudson

Writer: Colin Welland (Screenplay)

Starring: Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers, Ian Charleson, Ben Cross, Daniel Gerroll, Ian Holm

Plot: Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, compete in the 1924 Olympics.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Dated Sports Biopic

Story: Chariots of Fire starts in 1919 Cambridge University as we follow Harold Abrahams (Cross), and Aubrey Montague (Farrell) in the elite university of England. Here we get to see how fast the Jewish Harold is, also in Scotland we get to see Eric Liddell (Charleson) a rugby player turned runner that is also in the elite of the racing speed but he is a devote Christian who doesn’t believe in playing sports on a Sunday.

What follows is seeing the paths both Eric and Harold take to become the best in the nation as they become favourites for the British team heading into the Olympics. The two become rivals but their own personal beliefs could become a barrier in going for the gold medal.

Thoughts on Chariots of Fire

Characters/Performance – Having the characters based on the real people makes it difficult to say anything bad about them, we have two men who have been forced to put aside their difference in religious beliefs to make an impact on the sport they love taking part in. this is a story of success which is easy to enjoy for all that are involved.

Performance wise everything is good without being anything truly special by anyone involved through the film.

Story – This is a story about how two men put aside their difference to make their way to the top of the sport of athletes, it is easy to follow but does come off slightly too posh in places when you look at how the British come off.

Biography/Sports – Looking into the way we follow the two men’s journey to the Olympics we get to see how the races unfold which is all good but I would say this is one of the more average biopics that I have seen.

Settings – The settings show us the upper classes going into the sport of running, which is all good with the races at the Olympics coming off great for settings.

Final Thoughts – My final thoughts are that this is slightly too British showing you had to come from money to achieve in sports at this time, I also don’t feel the film does enough to show us all of the characters involved.

Overall: Nice but no cigar especially when we prefer the struggle to make it and become the story of success, rather than the winner.

Rating

Jun 28 2017

The Simpsons Challenge – Season 3 – Episode 5 – Homer Defined

The Simpsons Challenge

Season 3

Episode 5 – Homer Defined

Couch Gag – This time one of the aliens Kang or Kong is watching the TV making a quick escaping before the Simpsons arrive.

Plot Synopsis – Homer is a hero after averting a nuclear meltdown that he nearly caused, but he doesn’t want to tell anyone that he stopped it completely by accident.

What is going on really – This episode starts as Bart learns the Milhouse didn’t invite him to his birthday party because his mum thinks Bart is a bad example but the rest of the class and Otto do all get invited. Leaving Bart depressed on the bus.

Meanwhile Homer busy selecting the favourite flavour of donut finds the core temperature reaching meltdown level. This leads to Mr Burns not knowing about Homer’s intelligence which is annoying now. Homer must solve this problem before meltdown destroying the whole town.

Playing a game of chance Homer saves the town by selecting the right button. Homer becomes the hero of the town even getting the Employee of the Month Award, but only he knows the truth he was lucky.

This does have a moment that shows how Bart loves his mother while Homer gets exposed as the lucky man when the latest meltdown happened.

Star Character

Homer

Final Thoughts – This episode does have two really strong storylines going on, one being how luck can lead you down the wrong path and the other about friendship at a young age.

Rating 5/5

Jun 27 2017

Go With Me (2015)

Director: Daniel Alfredson

Writer: Joe Gangemi, Gregory Jacobs (Screenplay) Castle Freeman Jr (Novel)

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles, Ray Liotta, Alexander Ludwig, Lochlyn Munro, Hal Holbrook

Plot: An ex-logger comes to the aid of a woman who returns to her hometown in the Pacific Northwest and finds herself harassed and stalked by a former cop turned crime lord.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Slow Moving Thriller

Story: Go with Me starts when Lillian (Stiles) returns to her childhood hometown after her mother’s death to start a new life only to find herself being stalked by Blackway (Liotta) a former cop turned crime lord. Turning to the Sheriff (Wilson) Lillian gets passed over to the local loggers for help, Whizzer (Holbrook) refuses to help but offers his men a chance to join her. Lester (Hopkins) and Nate (Ludwig) go along to investigate as Lillian gets to learn more about how evil Blackway is.

As the three go in search for Blackway we learn more about why Lester agreed to go on what they all say is a suicide mission and learn what drew Blackway’s attention towards Lillian.

Thoughts on Go with Me

Story – This story is set mostly over just one day as we follow the three search for the crime lord in an act of revenge. I did think this story did come off slow but I also think this builds the tone nicely for this story. the story is also kept very simple and is character driven throughout. I think if you like a good thriller you will enjoy this one.

Thriller – This is a slow builder thriller that shows us all the reasons before having the final act releasing all the tension built up.

Characters/Performance – Lillian is designed to be a character that has always ran from problems but this time she wants to fight back. The town’s people are all created with fear of this villainous Blackway who is meant to strike fear in anyone he doesn’t like. While Lester is, a man looking to protect a woman after losing his daughter years before. The characters do all suit this film nicely.

The performances are all good with Stiles taking on a grittier role than in her earlier career but Hopkins and Liotta never come out of their comfort zones as actors.

Settings – The settings are all within this very small town who know how the community acts towards the man who gives them the most fear, some avoid other work for him but most wait for their chance. this setting plays into the tension being built throughout.

Final Thoughts – This is a very solid thriller that could be enjoyed by the fans of the genre that went completely under the radar.

Overall: Thriller fans try this one out for size.

Rating

Jun 27 2017

2017 Watched List – Part 15

2017 Movie Watched List

Movie Watched list are always interesting to read to see what order people watch films in, over the past two years I have started doing watched lists with two different styles to talk about the over 1000 movies I had seen. This year I decided to mix it up once more. This time I will be listing the films in 10 like before and then picking just my favourites on a couple of subject’s I am picking favourites over best because sometimes the best films are difficult re-watches which is why I like the term favourite.

Here is 141 – 150

1. Fast & Furious 5

2. Monster House

3. Get Out

4. Kong Skull Island

5. New Jack City

6. The Iron Lady

7. A Long Way Down

8. Close Encounter of the Third Kind

9. The Descendants

10. Pretty Woman

Favourite Film
Get Out

When you bring in racial satire into horror that works you have struck gold, this film is so intense you will be kept guessing from start to finish.

Worst Film
Kong Skull Island

This is down as my worst on these 10 but I would say it isn’t terrible, I didn’t enjoy this but that is mostly because it was bad character development through the film otherwise this is easy to watch.

Favourite Character
Hobbs – Fast & Furious 5

Hobbs inclusion in the Fast franchise bought in new life to franchise, he is full of energy that will get the job done and of course the fights he finds himself in are brutal.

Worst Character
James Conrad – Kong Skull Island

This is the lead character in the movie, I have no issues with Hiddleston’s performance my issue is with the character. The character is a tracker who doesn’t seem to do any tracking, he doesn’t have many lines either and it is one of the worst leading characters in any film.

Star Performance
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out

Daniel’s performance in this film is brilliant, we are drawn to his every decision, movement and expression. This guy needs to be given more films and soon.

Any other question you would like to know about the selection feel free to leave a comment and I will answer or maybe even add to future Watched Lists.

Jun 26 2017

Power Rangers (2017)

Director: Dean Israelite

Writer: John Gatins (Screenplay) Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney, Haim Saban, Shuki Levy (Story/Creators)

Starring: Darce Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Ludi Lin, Becky G, Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston

Plot: A group of high-school students, who are infused with unique superpowers, harness their abilities in order to save the world.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Fun Filled Actioner

Story: Power Rangers starts as we meet our unlikely High School group of misfits, we have disgraced football star Jason (Montgomery), forgotten cheerleader Kimberly (Scott) social awkward genius Billy (Cyler), rebel without a cause Zack (Lin) and mysterious Trini (G), all five are serving weekend classes and detention, but one night will change everything when Billy help Jason unlock his ankle brace locator, the five discover something strange in a gold mine. The next day the five learn they have got new powers, increased strength.

As the five learn more about their powers they find Zordon (Cranston) teaches them that they are the new Power Rangers, chosen to protect Earth from enemies with Rita Repulsa (Banks) being the threat who wants to take all life from Earth. The Power Rangers must learn to work as a team to defeat her and learn their true destiny.

Thoughts on Power Rangers

Characters/Performance – Jason is the disgraced football star who could easily have walked into any college football team but his rebellious side leaves him in trouble but now he must take the leadership role of the Rangers. Kimberly is the former cheerleader who was pushed out of the team after being involved in a scandal, now she wants a new image and this will give her a chance. Billy is the smartest member of the team but he is also social awkward and makes the discover of the coins which give them power. Zack is a rebel who enjoys taking risks but at home he has his own responsibilities. Trini is the outcast, she keeps to herself because of her family moving a lot. Rita is the villain looking to end life on Earth by taking the life force from the planet, she is very creepy throughout and fits what we know in the Power Rangers universe. Zordon is the mentor of the rangers, once a former leader looking to continue to protect Earth.

Performance wise, all five of the ranger’s performers are good throughout the film show we have 5 young actors with plenty of potential. Elizabeth Banks looks like she enjoyed the villainous role through the film with Cranston always being a good choice for a mentor like role.

Story – The story is the origin of the Power Rangers which needed fresh life away from the cheesy 90s show a lot of us grew up watching. We have characters that need to learn responsibility and this gives them that chance, we do have the generic training montage, singular villain that wants to end the world but this is everything we want from this film, we don’t need Shakespeare from a movie like this, just a fun story.

Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi – The action is big but not done with the comic production value we are used too, with the adventure being used as our characters go into a world they could never imagine and the sci-fi side of the story coming from the idea of monsters needing defeating from space.