Nov 27 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Adventure – # – Around the World in 80 Days (2004) Movie Review

Around the World in 80 Days – Enjoyable Adventure Movie

Director: Frank Coraci

Writer: David n Titcher, David Benullo, David Andrew Goldstein (Screenplay) Jules Verne (Novel)

Starring: Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Cecile de France, Robert Fyfe, Jim Broadbent, Ian McNeice

Plot: To win a bet, an eccentric British inventor, beside his Chinese valet and an aspiring French artist, embarks on a trip full of adventures and dangers around the world in exactly eighty days.

Tagline – Let your imagination soar.

Runtime: 2 Hours

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Around the World in 80 Days starts when eccentric inventor Phileas Fogg (Coogan) finds his latest valet leaving him, just when robber Lau Xing (Chan) lands in his home, Fogg wants to present his latest invention, but is considered the laughing stock of the British Science world with the minister Lord Kelvin (Broadbent) baiting him into a wager.

The wager is to travel around the world in 80 days where he is joined by Lau Xing who is looking to get home to China to return a stolen artifact from his village, a journey that will see the pair meet inspiring artist Monique La Roche (France) and face enemies in every country trying to stop Fogg winning the bet.

Thoughts on Around the World in 80 Days

Characters & Performances – Phileas Fogg is an eccentric inventor that has been coming up with ideas for years, most challenge the normal science, while others are more for convenience, he wants to be part of the British science committee, a place where his ideas aren’t accepted. He ends up getting caught up in a bet to go around the world in 80 days to take the role of minister of science or never be allowed to invent again, the journey will take him to new countries, giving him a chance to experience new cultures, ones he never would have experienced in England. Steve Coogan is great in this role, he brings us the stuck up version of Fogg to life, while slowly showing the changes he goes through during his adventure. Lau Xing has stolen back a statue from the bank of London, which will see him being hunted around the city, he joins Phileas on his adventure to return home, fighting off the enemies along the way, telling the stories others would never believe. Jackie Chan does steal the show, needing to carry the action comedy side of the film throughout the film. Monique La Roche is a French artist that joins the adventure to escape her boring life in Paris, taking her to see new places to get new experiences in what she can draw. She is the plucky member of the team, always pushing Fogg to come out of his shell. Cecile de France is great to watch through this film too as the three leads are wonderful together. The supporting characters including the upper-class British science committee that look down on everyone, the many different people they meet along the way, some help, some get in the way, as well as the warlord trying to stop Lau Xing from getting back home for her own gain. Each role is played well, and it does become a spot the big name at times.

Story – The story here follows an eccentric inventor as he looks to win a bet to travel around the world in 80 days to become the minister of science or never be allowed to invent again, an adventure which will see him learn more about life. We know the Jules Verne classic novel, here we get a spin that will put a bigger focus on Passepartout, being Lau Xing, needing to return home for honour, giving them more enemies along the way, it does become a more action packed story, but has the message of trying to find enjoyment out of life, by taking a chance.

Themes – Around the World in 80 Days does give us plenty of action from Jackie Chan and his fighting styles, each using the different environment for added ideas and comedy at times. Steve Coogan does bring the straight-faced humour at times, with plenty of poking fun at the British from yester year.

Final Thoughts – Around the World in 80 Days is a fun, enjoyable adventure movie that will get laughs and have plenty of action along the way.

Nov 26 2021

Liam White: The Forgettable Life of Liam White (2021) Movie Review ‘Emotional Journey’

Liam White: The Forgettable Life of Liam White – Emotional Journey

Director: Harold Jackson III

Writer: Harold Jackson III (Screenplay)

Starring: Shaun Woodland, Jasmine Guy, Terence TC Carlson, Sasha Wakefield

Plot: An author fights for his life while reconciling his past.

Tagline – He’s dying to live.

Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Liam White: The Forgettable Life of Liam White starts when author Liam White (Woodland) starts struggling on his latest novel, his life is turned even worse when he gets tragic news about his health.

As Liam looks to try and put his life together before he goes, he tries to learn about why his parents split up, finishing off his latest novel and sort out his own relationship, all in the hope of hopefully not being forgettable.

Thoughts on Liam White: The Forgettable Life of Liam White

Characters & Performances – Liam White is an author who has seen his work dry up, his ideas struggling to be put on paper and even his appearance whittled down to a few attendees, his personal life isn’t going much better either. His life is going to get worse when he learns his doesn’t have long to live, which he keeps to himself, showing the different emotions he is going through, reacting different around the people in his life. Shaun Woodland carries this film with his brilliant leading performance, showing the emptiness feelings his character is going through. When it comes to the supporting characters, we meet the parents who have different relationships with Liam, issues that he wants to solve. We also meet the women in his life, where he will get to know who the most important ones in his life. The supporting performances are strong through the film.

Story – The story here follows an author that learns his doesn’t have long to live, leading to him needing to put his affairs in order, in an attempt to leave the best memories of him behind. This is a story that is filled with emotion, with Liam knowing his fate, he is shown feeling lost, looking for the best solution for the situation he finds himself in, trying to maintain the positive world around him, not letting anyone else worry about him. It does show the importance of not letting yourself go into big personal battle alone, the support of the loved ones would be there, but it also shows how important trying to resolve conflicts can be between friends and family before it is to late. This does everything it needs to, to make us understand the difficulties the man is going through.

Themes – Liam White: The Forgettable Life of Liam White is a drama that will being together friends and family in a difficult time, it will keep most of the film calm, with most scenes focusing on the bigger moments going on within the life of Liam in his biggest time of need.

Final Thoughts – Liam White: The Forgettable Life of Liam White is an emotional story that spotlights the importance of support in the time of need.

Nov 25 2021

The Adventures of Snow White & Rose Red (2018) Movie Review ‘One for the Youngest Members of the Family’

The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red – One for the Youngest Members of the Family

Director: Andrew Balog, Victoria Batista, Nicole Coady

Writer: Olivia Anderson, Alexandra Marello (Screenplay) Nicole Coady (Story)

Starring: Demetra Zorbas, Callista Zorbas, Andrew Balog, Madeline Balta, Daniel Batista, Matt Beekman

Plot: Snow White, a kind girl with a passion for animals and books, is best friends with her sister, Rose Red, an outgoing girl with a curious spirit. They spend their days roaming the forest and playing pretend. But it’s not long before they learn that the woods they have lived in all their lives are nothing short of magical.

Runtime: 1 Hour 14 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red starts as two sisters Snow White (Demetra Zorbas) and Rose Red (Callista Zorbas) travel around their local forest meeting many different characters from fairy tales, including Rapunzel (Balta), Prince Charming (Batista and Alice, heading to Wonderland. Each encounter will see the pair looking for a different solution to help the people of the woods get through their troubles.

Thoughts on The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red

Thoughts – The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red is a nice little series of fairy tale adventures that follow the sisters meeting other figures from fairy tales as they help them with the problems the tales present, now they will look for non-conflicted solutions, while giving the message of inclusion for all. Everything we go through is simplified to make it easier to present to the youngest audiences out there, not offering enough for the mature audience, holding it back from being a complete family film. This is an interesting concept, but never manages to feel as convincing as it should be, trying to go in the opposite direction of the Brothers Grimm of fairy tales, trying to push heavily on the idea everyone in life can be good.

Final Thoughts – The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red is one of the purest family films, targeting all the good in life.

Nov 25 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Adventure – Y – Lake Placid: The Final Chapter (2012) Movie Review

This is under Y because of star Yancy Butler.

Director: Don Michael Paul

Writer: David Reed (Screenplay)

Starring: Elisabeth Rohm, Yancy Butler, Paul Nicholls, Poppy Lee Friar, Benedict Smith, Caroline Ford, Robert Englund

Plot: Black Lake is now a crocodile sanctuary, surrounded by an electric fence. When the fence is left open, a high-school bus unknowingly enters the park. It’s up to Reba and the Sheriff to save the kids from becoming crocodile food.

Tagline – It’s Anything But Tasteless

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Lake Placid: The Final Chapter starts when Sheriff Giove (Rohm), Reba (Butler) and Loflin (Nicholls) have created a crocodile sanctuary in the area to protect the local life, despite the bigger they get, the locals want them out.

When a group of poachers break into the area, the gate is left open, leading to the Sheriff’s daughter Chloe’s (Friar) high school camping trip going into the sanctuary, becoming the targets of the blood hunger crocodiles.

Thoughts on Lake Placid: The Final Chapter

Thoughts – Lake Placid: The Final Chapter is the latest movie in the already over done franchise that started as a horror comedy before turning into a CGI styled cheap cash in. we do get the normal idea of a group of people needing to fight to survive against a group of giant killer crocodiles in still water lake. The story does start with an early point that the crocodiles need to be protected, but quickly decides they are just in need of hunting, while they hunt the human victims. This is a fun type of monster movie, we know going in it isn’t going to be great, it is because of this, we can sit back and enjoy everything we see, from the Robert Englund creep like poacher, to the no-nonsense wildlife water protector Reba played by Yancy Butler. The tacked on love stories are used as filler, while most of what happens around it is just drunk kids being easy pickings. The special effects are not the strongest, with most just being awkward computer crocodiles that have never been near the scene they are meant to be part off.

Final Thoughts – Lake Placid: The Final Chapter is a great late night trashy horror film.

Nov 24 2021

Christmas at the Ranch (2021) Movie Review ‘Sweet Christmas Love Story’

Christmas at the Ranch – Sweet Christmas Love Story

Director: Christin Baker

Writer: Julie Anton, Christin Baker (Screenplay)

Starring: Amanda Righetti, Lindsay Wagner, Laur Allen, Archie Kao, Dia Frampton, Aaron Branch

Plot: When Haley Hollis returns to her family ranch to try and save it from closure, she wasn’t banking on spending so much time with ranch hand Kate – or falling for her.

Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Christmas at the Ranch starts when city career driven woman Haley (Allen) is facing her biggest career project, when her brother Charles (Kao) calls her home to help with the family ranch, which has been losing money against the competition.

Haley does come back with her business mind on, she is looking to quickly sell and move on, but when she meets the ranch hand Kate (Righetti), she starts to remember what the ranch meant to her and her family.

Thoughts on Christmas at the Ranch

Characters & Performances – Haley is a workaholic in the big city, she has been given her biggest project yet for her company, while trying to find love in the big city. Her work has come at a price though, as she has been stepping away from help her family ranch and now a trip back there will change how she wants to look at life and give her a chance at finding love, breaking her away from the business driven mind that she has been operating with. Laur Allen is great in this leading role, showing the ruthless side of her career, but the damaged side from her personal life. Kate is the ranch hand who finds herself isolated in her work, spending her time either talking to the animals or talking to herself, she has given plenty of her time to help the ranch remain successful, which will see her clash with Haley on why things aren’t going to plan, but after their awkward first encounter, they both sense a good in each other that will find a solution to the problems. Amanda Righetti does a great job at bringing to life someone who is different to Haley, someone who seems wiser to what is important in life. When it comes to the supporting cast, we have Charles the brother who needs support, as well as Meemaw who has always looked out for her grandchildren on the ranch, wanting to keep it for them.

Story – The story here follows a workaholic social media manager living in the big city who needs to travel back to her home ranch to help them decide what to do in the future after a bad year in business, leaving her in a position where she can do the quick solution, only to find herself remembering how special the place is to her, while falling in love once again. This is a story that will have the deeper meaning of needing to support your family and that money isn’t going to be the answer for everything in life. The story will take us down memory lane for Haley, proving that you will never forget where you came from. This will also play into the idea that Christmas will make people change for the better.

Themes – Christmas at the Ranch is a romance movie set at Christmas where the loneliness people search for love and will find it in the place, they are least likely to look for it. The film will use the two main settings to show the different lives Haley could have, with the big city overworked location against the more relax ranch life, where you can get a chance to breath.

Final Thoughts – Christmas at the Ranch is a Christmas film that is filled with the romance of the magical time of the year.