Eddie the Eagle Movie Review
It is perhaps a result of the popularity of geek chic in recent times that a movie about an athlete who goes to the Olympics and comes dead last in his event has become a commercial viability. Such a story has precedence in truth, of course, with Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards, a British ski jumper that was so far behind the competitive field of his Olympic peers that he endeared himself to people the world over for simply having the guts to ‘have a go’.
It must be said from the ...
The Boss Movie Review
That most of the laughs erupt between groans is only indicative of what constitutes a modern day comedy. Throw as many jokes in as fast as possible because the days of slowly building up to the big laugh are long gone.
McCarthy also one-ups the boys with a performance that is equal parts cringe comedy and social harpooning. With one of the many targets being fairly obvious, the only thing that prevents Martha Stewart from rolling in her grave is the fact she hasn’t died yet.
The ...
Beledo – Dreamland Mechanism – Music Review
Bye Bye Blues is really driven by stickman Gary Husband as his rolling drums constantly keep the forward momentum in overdrive. It’s this friendly determination that keeps things is the service of the song and away from personal grandstanding. Marylin’s Escapade again highlights Beledo’s unreal overabundant capacity as he adds accordion to the already sumptuous mix. His fluidity is engaging as the notes seamlessly flow.
Lucilla is an exotic acoustic sidestep with Endang Ramdan’s ...
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
With Batman versus Superman, however, it's not quite so easy to see the conflict as they are both clearly on the ‘hero’ side of the equation. But director, Zack Snyder, does a reasonable job of pulling this together by tapping into a problem that many viewers had with his prior film, Man of Steel.
Batman, like many of us, heavily resents the heavy public toll resulting from Superman's urban clash with General Zod. This is understandable but when Batman determines to kill Superman in ...
The Jungle Book Movie Review
The film also includes some great laughs along with the heavy hits of pathos as you the audience discover the identity of the voice actors. Of particular note are the very funny antics of Bill Murray as Baloo and the Guido humour of Christopher Walken as King Louie. Idris Elba is also especially majestic as the king of the jungle, Shere Khan
The film travels down the well know path of the animated original but adds enough new depth to give it a relevance of its own. It does however ...
Zootopia Movie Review
The film follows Judy, a carrot farmer's daughter who bucks social norms to engage in a career usually reserved for more robust species such as oxen, rhinos and tigers. When her abilities are underestimated by her chief of police, she teams up with city slicker con-fox, Nick, who is similarly socially pigeon-holed in accordance with his species as a sly character who is always up to no good.
The film is a little heavy handed with its anti-bullying, anti-discrimination, social inclusion, ...
The Lady in the Van Movie Review
Well it was also the first time I had ever laid eyes on Maggie Smith, who played the sea goddess, Thetis. And to my 12-year-old eyes, Maggie looked positively ancient. Of course, she was a spritely 47-year-old then (I say ‘spritely’ because that's how old I am now) but she has grown older as I have grown older and, as a result, she has always looked ‘old’ to me.
At 81, it's fair to say she has earned that mantle now but one thing that has not faded with her age is her performance ...
Grimsby Movie Review
The very British story revolves around spies, long lost brothers, council flats, soccer, drinking with your mates and saving the world. It also features movie star types like Mark Strong, Penélope Cruz, Mrs. Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher and that worldwide embarrassment Donald Trump.
One of the best ways to put the proceedings in perspective is to make a list of some of the props needed to bring Cohen’s ideas to fruition. Half metre long fake phallus, check. 100 litres of ejaculate, ...
Hail, Caesar! Movie Review
Viewers with a basic knowledge of cinema history will be paid dividends as the references to a glorious past arrive with regularity. From references like the dance extravaganzas of Busby Berkeley to the screwball comedy of Cary Grant, the love and respect is up on the silver screen for all to see.
A familiar cast of characters is evident and Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Frances McDormand and Scarlett Johansson are just a few regulars that do justice to the always-impressive words of the ...
Trumbo Movie Review
Following the Second World War many in democratic countries around the world (including Australia) became members of the Communist Party, then the party of social and economic justice. But when the former ally in the Communist regime of the USSR became the enemy of the West during the Cold War, the ground figuratively shifted beneath western Communists' feet and they became targets of suspicion within their own countries.
This is not unique to this time and place, of course; German ...
