Feb 28 2018

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Director: Michael Mann

Writer: Michael Mann, Christopher Crowe (Screenplay) James Fenimore Cooper (Novel)

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Eric Schweig, Jodhi May, Steven Waddington, Wes Studi

Plot: Three trappers protect a British Colonel’s daughters in the midst of the French and Indian War.

Tagline – The first American hero.

Runtime: 1 Hour 52 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Good, but Hard to Follow

Story: The Last of the Mohicans starts in the middle of the French Indian war raging through America we meet trapper Hawkeye (Day-Lewis) who doesn’t want to get involved in the war when the British try to recruit support in the battle. Major Duncan Heywood (Waddington) is preparing to escort the General’s daughters Cora (Stowe) and Alice (May) across the country, hoping he can marry Cora one day. When the group get ambushes, Hawkeye guides them to safety but then finds himself in the middle of the war he was trying to avoid. Hawkeye falls in love with Cora and soon finds himself needing to free himself from the British who treat him like a war criminal even after what he did for the British and continues to do when Cora is in danger.

Thoughts on The Last of the Mohicans

Characters – Hawkeye is the adopted child of an Indian family raised to be one of their greatest trappers, he along with his family would like to stay out of the war, but he gets dragged into the battle after rescuing the British General’s daughters. He shows the strength to lead an army, determination to win a battle and the love it feels for Cora. Cora is the daughter of a British general trapped in a world at war, she becomes the love interest for Hawkeye who spends most of the film trying to rescue her. If I am honest, I found it hard to tell any of the British apart or any of the Indians, which at time made it confusing to follow who was on the good side and bad side.

Performances – Daniel Day-Lewis is good in the leading role, which is something you would have come to expect from him, but his combat scenes don’t seem to click at times. Madeleine Stowe is good to as is the whole cast who are good without being great and not being bad through the film.

Story – The story follows a neutral trapper in the middle of the British and French battling in America who gets caught up in the middle of the war because of his love for a British woman who needs protecting. This does play into moments of history without being anything special if we are being honest, we try to learn more about the history of the early battles in America without us knowing too much going in, we barely learn anything afterwards too.

Action/Adventure/Romance/War – The action while massive on scale can become plenty of well placed battle moments searching for shock value, the romance drives Hawkeye to fight and save during a war backdrop, one he never wanted to be part of.

Settings – The settings show the clash of worlds, the Indian beliefs, the British forts and the French forts which shows us who will be comfortable in different battle situations.

Scene of the Movie – Ambushes number two.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Figuring out who was on which side, just gets confusing.

Final Thoughts – This is a film that is filled with praise before I went into it, by the end I found it just to be fine, I wouldn’t consider it a great and in fact not one I would be watching again.

Overall: Overly hyped movie.

Rating

Opinion Battles Results – Most Anticipated of 2018

Opinion Battles Results

Most Anticipated of 2018

This round we have had an excellent selection of Films but just which one was the most popular?

2^nd

Choice – The Meg, Halloween, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms and Ready Player One

Players – Table 9 Mutant, Emma, Diana, John, S.G. Liput

Points – 4.5

I have just given the general split for a draw as we had 4 picks in second place.

1^st

Choice – Avengers Infinity War

Players – Tom and Drew

Points – 12

If you want to take part in the next round, we are looking at favourite Steven Spielberg Movie

send you choices to moviereviews101@yahoo.co.uk.

Closing Date – Friday 2^nd March 2018

Here is the table,(Drew – Drew’s Movie Reviews, Kim – Tranquil Dreams, Cinema Parrot Disco, Rob – Movie Rob, Emma – Emma Explains It All, S.G. Liput – Rhyme and Reason, Rachel – 54 Disney Reviews, Tom – Plain Simple Tom Reviews, Gill – Realweegiemidget Reviews, John – Johnrieber.com, Diana – DB Movie Blog, Milo – Stuff and That) can anyone take this league by storm like last year?

Feb 27 2018

A Wish for Giants (2018)

Director: Don Swanson

Writer: Aaron Dunbar (Screenplay)

Starring: Naysa Altmeyer, Alexa Mechling, Connor McClain, J.P. Edwards, Jerry Pietrala, Joe Fishel

Plot: Sophie, a young volunteer, meets her kindred spirit in Roxie, a girl with a life threatening medical condition and a unique wish to meet Bigfoot.

Tagline – An impossible wish. A determined volunteer.

Runtime: 1 Hour 18 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Plays on the Heart Strings

Story: A Wish for Giants starts as we see how Roxie (Mechling) a school girl gets struck down with a brain tumour, like all kids that are suffering this tragic illness, they get a chance for a wish, which brings in Sophie (Altmeyer) a student volunteer who takes the case, but the wish is to meet bigfoot.

Determined to fulfil this wish Sophie must face the difficulties of trying to prove whether this could be real or not, while rich boy student Derrick (McClain) sees this as a chance for fame and fortune.

Thoughts on A Wish for Giants

Characters – Sophie is a hard working student and volunteer that helps sick children fulfil a wish, this is her first solo case and she will focus on any resources to make this a reality for Roxie. Roxie is the school girl that has been struck with the terminal disease, her wish is to meet bigfoot, because no one else has been able to say thy have, this is character that is shown to be any child that suffers. Derrick is a fellow student, he is rich, self-centred and believes his money can get him anything he wants in the world.

Performances – Naysa Altmeyer in the leading role is good, we believe the determinations she is going through. Alexa Mechling is good in the role of the suffering school girl, we see how she wants to be different. Connor McClain does the morally wrong character well in this movie, playing the position well throughout the film.

Story – The story follows the efforts volunteers put into help terminal sick children, it does play in out like a behind the scenes look at this moment being prepared which is interesting too see. This is a good look at how this process is achieved, while also knowing the suffering being felt by the child. We do get into moral grounds about making the wish happen and you will be left in the position of wondering how the dreams are being fulfilled.

Fantasy – The movie uses the idea of fantasy when it comes to looking at the wish that Roxie wants fulfilled, this is the best way to look at this situation because it is the only way to approach it for Sophie.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show the lives of the characters, be it the struggles of the student, the hospitals that Roxie goes through and the woods that could be home to bigfoot.

Scene of the Movie – In the woods.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Derrick does becoming a character you don’t want to be watching.

Final Thoughts – This is a good, strong drama that shows the struggles to make a wish come true for a terminal ill school kid, it does try to play on the heart strings and offers the question about how far would you go for this to be achieved.

Overall: Strong drama

Rating

Feb 27 2018

ABC Film Challenge – Oscar Nominations – # – 20 Feet from Stardom (2013)

Director: Morgan Neville

Plot: Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.

Tagline – Meet the unsung heroes behind the greatest music of our time.

Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Nice Documentary

Story: 20 Feet from Stardom starts as we meet different backup singers that have worked with the biggest names in music, Mick Jagger, Sting and Bruce Springsteen to mention a few, we follow these backup singers that have always wanted to sing, but not perform not giving them the fame the lead singer would get, despite the effect their singer put towards the songs.

Thoughts on 20 Feet from Stardom

Final Thoughts – This is a nice documentary about the people that add something to the songs you know and love with their backup vocals, there stories of how they learned from the more famous performers while also aspiring to become the big names on their own stage. This is a documentary that shows that talent comes from each position on the stage.

Overall: Good documentary about the lesser known talents.

Rating