What I’m Currently Watching #25

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. This is the 25th week and I’m a little behind with a few episodes, but I’m getting there. This week I’ll be covering Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., South Park and Star Wars Rebels. With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀 Oh and careful for minor spoilers…

Agents of SHIELD (Season 4) “Meet the New Boss”

So we’re back with AoS and the follow-up episode to the great season premiere was pretty damn solid. This episode did a good job of answering a goof few questions presented in the previous episode regarding: 1) Seeing the new director of SHIELD in the flesh, 2) Finding out what was going on with the ghost woman and 3) Seeing how integral Ghost Rider would be to the plot going forward. I really enjoyed the scenes between Daisy and Robbie with Daisy being pushy and trying to get information from Robbie, and Robbie being uncooperative/hostile. I’m also just loving how much Ghost Rider we’re getting at the moment whether Robbie’s getting into scuffles with Daisy or transforming and burning his enemies to the ground (which was awesome by the way), it’s always fun when he’s on-screen. It was also interesting to learn about the ghost lady and how she and her other colleagues were part of some incident that was her fault, I’m curious to see where their story goes whether we’ll learn what happened to them in flashbacks and whether it was science-based or something supernatural, I’m hoping for the latter or possibly a but of both if compromise is required. There were some nice moments with Mac and Fitz, Coulson and May too, but the most intriguing element of the show was the new director of SHIELD, Jeffrey. Finally we got to see this guy in the flesh and he was so nice, friendly and upbeat, but we also learnt that he’s not only got plans to bring SHIELD back into the public eye, but also to keep Coulson away from people he can’t be objective about. Oh, and he’s an Inhuman! That was totally unexpected, and to see him take all that damage from May and shut her down so quickly was cold and badass. Oh and Melinda May had one heck of a day, feeling uneasy and delusional because of the touch of the ghost lady, to see her being paranoid and attacking everyone,it was fascinating to see her outside of her normal demeanour and with her left strapped down all panicky it makes me wonder what Jeffrey’s people will do to May to make her “better”.

South Park (Season 20) “Skank Hunt”

I always love how South Park can take something so simple in its plot, blow it out proportion and make it funny and that’s what happened in this episode. Seeing more of Kyle’s work as Skankhunt42 was funny during his trolling montages, but to find out his reasoning being why he does what he does was interesting; he just thought being a troll was funny and he wanted to cause chaos just because he could. I also loved how everyone reacted to Heidi Turner leaving Twitter, it was hilarious how everyone treated her like she was dead and the kids started writing nice memories about her in class even though she was still right there. Oh and when the boys tricked Cartman into coming into the woods and then smashed his electronics, only to find out that he wasn’t Skankhunt42, that stuff was funny too. But the icing on the cake was when all the girls broke up with the guys in that awesome sequence towards the end, it was so dramatic, over-the-top and it was interesting to learn how many guys in that school actually had girlfriends haha.

Star Wars Rebels (Season 3) “Steps Into Shadow”

Star Wars Rebels has come back and I loved the first episode of season 3. It had some minor tonal and story issues, but overall it did ell to show how much had changed since last season with the Ghost team, and what’s been going on with the Empire. I like how we got to see the new Ghost team with Ezra as the leader, clearly they’ve been working this way for a while and have an efficient dynamic with their different skills. Clearly Ezra a lot stronger, more confident and reckless, but in an exciting and captivating way, his lightsaber and Force abilities are miles beyond what they were before, but it was that scene when he controlled that Imperial walker, shot down those Stormtroopers and then made the Walker go off the edge, I was like “Damn, this dude ain’t playing around!” Clearly the time he sent with that Sith Holocron has taught him a lot, but has been corrupting him. I also loved seeing Kanan’s arc in this episode, he’s still been deeply affected by the events of the season 2’s finale and he’s separated himself from the Ghost team, but he at least got to confront Ezra about the Holocron and then go on a journey himself with the Bendu teaching him about his own fear and how to use the Force to see without his sight. That was some thought-provoking and beautiful material. Plus the addition of Grand Admiral Thrawn was very enticing to me, I only know of the character’s significance through fan discussion online, but from what I’ve seen so far is that he comes across as very smart, methodical and cool character, clearly he’s got long-term plans for the Rebels. The overall tone of the show was a little darker and more serious than before (probably thanks to the new later time slot) and I’m liking where this show is heading so far.

Well that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of these shows? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching  too. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

FIVE Years On WordPress! Anniversary Times!

Howdy ladies and gentlemen, how’s it going? As you can see from the title above, today marks the five year anniversary of this blog’s existence and so I just wanted to do a quick post today and reflect on the years that’s gone by. 🙂

I needed a good meme for this occasion and this one jumped out at me so much.

It is crazy to think that today marks the five year point for this blog, I remember joking around back in university in my first year that I’d be doing this blog for at least three or five years, but look at where we are now. It’s 2016 and this blog is still operational! Madness! Haha! 😛

Now it does have to be noted that this blog is not the same blog it was three to four years ago, between 2012 to 2014 were my peak periods in terms of content, viewership and interaction from followers/visitors and I have seen a decline since then. Why bring that up? Well It does feel a little disheartening to work for so long and have a decrease in engagement. I know that’s partly my fault for the lack of content, but with the amount of followers I have and keep getting over time, I’m surprised there are not more people stopping by. But hey I guess my blog isn’t powerful/consistent enough. Oh well, I still have the odd new person, friend or regular follower that still swing by for a bit of discussion and at the end of the day that’s all I could ask for. 🙂

So what’s next for this blog? Well the TV season is back in full swing so the weekly reviews will be back in play, I’ll also be trying to get back to doing more cinema reviews during the Autumn/Fall season and there will be some more podcast stuff coming too so be sue to look out for that in the coming weeks/months.

In conclusion thank you to all the people who are still checking out this blog, I love ya haha. And here’s hoping we can keep this blog going for another half decade! Until next time, laters! 😀

 

ONE PARAGRAPH REVIEW: Don’t Breathe

Howdy ladies and gents, time for another one of those one paragraph reviews and today I’ll be talking about Don’t Breathe. So here’s the thing, I actually watched this film last Friday as part of a double session with Blair Witch which sounds like madness considering my disliking of the horror genre, but I was feeling daring so I did it anyway. And so I was debating whether I’d do this review or not but decided it’d be worth my time just to share my thoughts so hear we go!

Firstly the plot of this film involves these three young criminals who decide to break into a blind man’s house to get his cash, but what they’re not aware of how dangerous the man really is, and so the these kids have to escape. What I liked about the film was how simple it was, an yet it had so much detail, two of the main characters has reasons for why they’ve become criminals and with the blind man you learn about him over the course of the film, and while their character detail varies, it is good and engaging material. But what really works about this film was everything that took place in the house, it becomes a tense, scary and aggressive game of cat and mouse, and its crazy to see how menacing and in control the blind man was and how much trouble those kids really were in. The sense of fear and suspense was done to great effect, even the jump scare felt relevant, but I think what was worse was just the moments of silence and points inbetween the kids getting attacked which really freaked me out. I will admit towards the end of the film a certain revelation was reveald that was a little surprising and distrubing too, but I was warned by a friend beforehand so it lessened the impact, however it didn’t stop me from thinking “Ewwww, that’s natsy.” And if you’ve seen the scene you know exactly what I’m taling about. The third act becomes a little less tense, frustrating and silly, but it didn’t ruin the film for me. Oh and the cast were good too, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette and Daniel Zovatto did well as Rocky, Alex and Money, but I really gravititated more to Levy and Minnette’s performances. But it was clearly all about Stephen Lang as The Blind Man, this role was so scary, intense, magnetic and disturbing, and Lang killed it! So yeah I would recommend Don’t Breathe as it is a unique, fun, tense and creepy film that needs to be experienced.

So have you seen Don’t Breathe and if so what did you think of it? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below and I’ll see ya on teh next review, laters! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #24

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. This is the 24th week and with the summer over and TV season back in full swing again, its time for the weekly TV reviews to come back, and this week I’ll be talking about Blindspot, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Lucifer and South Park. With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀 Oh and careful for minor spoilers…

Blindspot (Season 2) “In Night So Ransomed Rogue”

Ah Blindspot, its good to see you again. What was nice was that the tone, plot and characters felt in line with what’s come before, but the new plot involving the NSA working with the FBI to get Sandstorm (the same enemy that messed with Jane) creates a new dynamic that’ll be fun to explore over the course of the season. It’s interesting to see how things had initially changed for not only Jane but Weller and his team too with Jane being incarcerated and physically tortured, while Weller and his crew miss working on Jane’s tattoos. But what captured my attention more was how the events surrounding Jane from last season finally came to light and how it affected Weller, Reade, Zapata and Patterson’s relationship with Jane. Emotions were clearly running high not only with the FBI’s crew’s feelings towards Jane, but also the relationship between Jane and Weller, but then there’s all the stuff with Jane especially towards the end of the episode, with all those revelations about her past and the tie-ins to the beginning of the show, it just adds so much layers to the overall story, and the new characters Jane’s interacted with. I also liked seeing all of the actors back in their roles especially with Jaimie Alexander and Sullivan Stapleton, but it was also great to see newcomers Archie Panjabi, Michelle Hurd and Luke Mitchell (my man from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) establish themselves well in this show.

Agents of SHIELD (Season 4) “The Ghost”

So S.H.I.E.L.D. is back on TV again and its nice to see how things have progressed since last season and all the new elements introduced. I like how the episode didn’t waste time and started with an action sequence which not only gave us a look at Daisy/Quake in action but also showed us glimpses of Ghost Rider as he drove his flaming car and took dudes out in a gruesome manner off-screen. I also like how Mac and Coulson are a new pairing, while several of the old members of the SHIELD team are off in different departments. Crazy to see how divide of all the characters has created not only a shift in power/authority but also trust issues as well, some of my favourites being with Simmons and May or Yo-Yo and Daisy. It was also great to see the return of Dr. Radcliffe and his Life Model Decoy (AIDA played wonderfully by Mallory Jansen) in action and the conversation he had with Fitz about the codes and ethics of what he can and can’t do in SHIELD and Radcliffe’s reasoning behind wanting to create the LMD was really fascinating. Gabriel Luna is doing a great job as Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider so far, he’s mysterious, intimidating and cool, and I love his reasoning for doing what he does not only as Robbie, but as Ghost Rider too. Plus how sweet was that reveal of the Rider in action? So cool, the VFX were on-point! The episode was pretty good with the addition of supernatural elements not only with the unexplained origins of Ghost Rider, but also of that strange ghost lady that made those guys kill each other and infected May’s mind. Finally I also liked the theme of attachment and how it applied to several of the main characters including Daisy, Robbie, Fitz and Yo-Yo. Can’t wait to see how this season progresses.

Lucifer (Season 2) “Everything Comes Up Lucifer”

Lucifer has returned and it feels like nothing has changed and that is both a good and bad thing for me. On the one hand the show’s still the same with the humour, style, characters and cop drama cases, and that’s good stuff. But at the same time there wasn’t too much change between the end of season 1 and the start of season 2, I guess that’s due to the short amount of time passed between episodes. All in all it was a funny episode with Lucifer being his funny, charismatic and egocentric self, but it was also interesting learn details about Lucifer’s mother, his history with her and how Maze and Amenadiel felt about it too. But what was even more intriguing was Decker’s feelings about Lucifer’s abilities and how Amenadiel explained it to her to keep her away from the truth. I’m definitely curious to see where the show goes from here, but the first episode for season 2 wasn’t as impressive as I wanted.

South Park (Season 20) “Member Berries”

So here we are with season 20 of South Park and it was fine, had some fun moments, but nothing super funny. The episode was topical, covered a lot of stuff that’s happened in the world recently, but also covered certain things that’s happened in South Park history too. I did like how the episode started with the Volleyball match, that was pretty funny especially after everyone left after the national anthem. The Cartman thing with him talking about girls being funny and talking about their virginas was kind of funny, but the best line was when one of the girls called Cartman and a “fat fuck” and Butters laughed, that was perfect. The whole Member Berries thing was just a little weird and dull, but the thing with J.J. Abrams rebooting the natural anthem was fun, if a little anti-climatic, and while I loved Mr. Mackey’s rise to power for the position of President, in this episode I found him a lot less compelling and funny than before, I hope he gets better. The end reveal that Kyle’s dad was skankhunt42 was great and I can see that this being one of the key elements that will continue of the course of the season.

Well that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of these shows? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching  too. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

PODCAST: Film Focus Episode 17 – Blair Witch Review

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, back in April I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well. I’m a little late this week but I decided to take a chance in the cinema and now I have an episode dedicated to a review of Blair Witch.

Anyway here’s the 17th episode:

This was certainly a spur of the moment kind of thing, this definitely wasn’t the topic of next episode of my podcast, but since I felt good after watching the film and since it’s the film’s opening weekend the timing was good to release this episode. It was I may write a review soon, but for now just check out this podcast. 😀

As I mentioned before in each episode I’ll cover a different topic and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂

You can find my main site on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/film_focus

Or if you’re on iTunes subscribe and rate me on there: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/film-focus/id1114233892?mt=2

So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀

 

Fall/Autumn TV I’m Gonna Be Watching!

Howdy people of the internet and fellow subscribers, its September and TV season is starting up again soon and I just wanted to update y’all on the stuff I’ll be checking out. Now for those who have been following me since last year you’ll know I started up a series called “What I’ve Been Watching” where I reviewed the TV I’d watched during that week, and while I wasn’t always consistent from week to week, it was a lot of fun to talk about TV and get some responses. Now there are some shows I’ve dropped or don’t care for as much as I used like The Walking Dead, Gotham and possibly some others, so yeah just thought I’d put that out there.

Anyway with all that out of the way here’s me preview:

Luke Cage (Season 1)

This show is just shy of two weeks away and I swear this wait has been almost as difficult as Daredevil season 2. Luke Cage went from being a show I was intrigued about to being something I was super hyped for, I think its been thanks to the great trailers and interviews about the way the showrunner and actors approached this show that got me so giddy. I’ve never been a big Luke Cage fan, but Marvel’s Netflix shows have made care for characters in an in-depth manner and I assume that’ll be the case for this show too. I want this show to be badass, I need to be, if it isn’t then I’ll be gutted. But I hope the show will work out.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 4)

I know a lot of people have given up on this show, but there’s a still a good few people that have a lot of love for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and that’s one of the key reasons it’s survived despite the low viewership and less than stellar perception from an outsiders perspective. AoS has been improving with each season and while not all of the stories and characters are great, it can definitely make for some entertaining TV. So now we have season 4 with a totally different landscape for all of our main characters and the introduction of frigging GHOST RIDER! Something I thought would never happen, and while it’s not the OG Johnny Blaze incarnation, I’m still hyped to see what they do with the character, and where things will go with the use of Inhumans, Coulson and company and Quake on her own solo adventures.

South Park (Season 20)

It is crazy to think that South Park is in its 20th season, man, just thinking about it makes me feel a lot older that I am. Anyway, even though the show’s already started, I haven’t checked out the first episode yet. I am curious to see what Matt Stone and Try Parker bring to the show this time around as season 19 had so many intriguing and refreshing changes to the basic formula to the show while still being as funny and as relevant as ever. So here’s hoping season 20 is a good one.

Star Wars Rebels (Season 3)

I love how Star Wars Rebels went from being a show I liked watched to being quintessential TV. Season 1 introduced some great new characters, story and mythology, while season 2 built upon that foundation and expanded it to a whole new level with more episodes, more character-driven stories, darker elements and ties to previous Star Wars film and TV material. And after the conclusion of season 2, I am more hyped than ever to see how this season unfolds with the introduction of Grand Admiral Thrawn into the world SW canon, getting more Maul, seeing more of Sabine and the Mandalorians and discovering what will become of Ezra as his Force abilities grow stronger.

The Flash (Season 3)

The Flash has been on of the most consistent TV shows in the superhero genre in recent memory and it went from strength to strength from season 1 to 2 to give audiences compelling and intriguing stories, characters, action and drama that was easily accessible and yet true to its source material. Season 2 was certainly more ambitious with the time travel material, doppelgänger characters and supernatural elements with the Speed Force and Zoom. And while The Flash some weak episodes around 2/3’s of the way into the show overall it was a stronger season and because of the way it ended, The Flash can now go anywhere and I’m curious to se if this show’s season 3 will be good or will be the start of a decline in quality like with what happened to Arrow‘s third season.

Lucifer (Season 2)

Ah Lucifer, what a crazy journey we went on last year. It is crazy how this show went from something I had no interest in, to being around 3 to 5 episodes in and really getting into. The show had an interesting balance of supernatural material mixed in with the standard police procedural genre, and while seeing certain common elements of the police drama side of things got a little tiresome, there was enough unique material to keep me watching. Plus it was the characters that was the main selling point of this show and the cast all did very well with a fabulous central performance from Tom Ellis as the charismatic and ever so charming title character. I’m really hyped to see where this next season goes especially with the introduction of Lucifer’s mother played by Tricia Helfer.

Blindspot (Season 2)

Blindspot ended up being one of my favourite new shows of last year and while each weekly episode was not always as captivating as it could be, it had an interesting story with characters I liked and a level of mystery, intrigue and surprise that made the show worth watching. I’ve just seen the first episode of season 2 and I’m liking what I’m seeing so far.

Arrow (Season 5)

With Arrow I’m almost ready to say taht I’m done with it considering how questionable the show’s gotten over the last two seasons with all the inconsistent, dull and uninteresting storylines, flashbacks and new characters I’ve had to endure. But it hasn’t been all bad and since I started thisshow back when it was good, I feel compelled to see it through to the end. I just hope that the showrunners can some new life into this show, but also get back to the core elements which made the show entertaining the first two seasons, because I do want to see this show bounce back.

Supergirl (Season 2)

At this point in time I haven’t finished Supergirl‘s first season because it was constantly a mixed bag of stuff I liked and things that irritated me. I found the show too similar to The Flash in tone, use of the soundtrack and overall format (probably the Greg Berlanti touch) but in addition to that the CGI was choppy, the fight scenes had no oomph or good choreography and the stories weren’t always too engaging. That being said I loved Melissa Benoist as Supergirl, most of the main cast are good, thee’s good world building and some cool reveals and the world the show inhabits has potential to grow and become even better. Season 2 seems to be delivering a lot of new material, most notably including Superman, so I’ll be curious to see how this show moves forward but also ties into the other CW DC shows.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 2)

I’m not gonna lie, I don’t love this show, but there’s enough redeeming qualities about it that makes me want to keep watching. While some of the repetition in the story and character relationships and personalities got a little annoying, I did really get attached to the characters (mainly the already established ones) and it was the actors/actresses that kept me coming back more than the stories. I hope that season 2 will have a more compelling central story, less annoying character and better fight scenes too.

So that’s my list, expect the reviews to start coming in as of next week I think possibly on Wednesdays or Fridays. I’d love to know what TV you’ll be watching from now until Christmas and if you have shows you’d like to recommend me then be sure comment below and let me know okay? Until next time, laters! 😀

 

ONE PARAGRAPH REVIEW: Sing Street

Howdy ladies and gents, time for another one paragraph review and today I’ll be talking about Sing Street. Now I don’t know how this film flew under my radar during its UK release, but I never even heard of it until I think either late July/August on Collider Movie Talk and I finally watched it last week and good gravy, it was fabulous and I’ll tell you why in this review.

The plot can be summed up as the following: “A boy growing up in Dublin during the 1980s escapes his strained family life by starting a band to impress the mysterious girl he likes.” Sing Street has beautiful feeling about it that is almost indescribable. One thing I love about certain films are stories focusing on young people discovering their talents, growing up and learning life lessons, but I also adore the forming of young love and the bond between friends, and this film captured of those elements in spades. I loved the story and appreciated how this film had a lot of drama in background that sometimes bled into the foreground, a lot of heavy subject matters are covered and when they bubble on the surface and finally when they explode it does so in a spectacular manner. I also love this film’s sense of humour, youthful nature, and attention to detail when it comes to the early days of music videos and different popular music genres of the 1980’s. The cast was all really good in their roles. Firstly we have to talk about Ferdia Walsh-Peelo who was just amazing as Conor “Cosmo” Lalor, I really liked how determined, charismatic and delightful he was in his quest to impress a girl, escape the dramas of his school and home life and discover his talents. Also Lucy Boynton as Raphina was the definition of enchanting, she was so mysterious, intriguing and wonderful, but I also liked the extra layers to he that got discovered later on. Aidan Gillen and Maria Doyle Kennedy were really engaging and dramatic as Robert and Penny, and Jack Reynor as Brendan probably the delivers the best of his career as his character has such charm, wit and hidden depth. As someone who hated Reynor in Transformers 4, I was so surprised by how much I loved im in this film. And finally I really enjoyed Mark McKenna and Ben Carolan as Eamon and Darren as they were the most notable, funny and interesting members of the Sing Street band. Oh and the music, Jesus, it is amazing. I love this film’s respect and homages to the music of that era through the band’s original music which was so catchy and varied that you’ll want to get the soundtrack soon after the film ends. And I especially liked the use of musicians from that period with  The Cure, Duran Duran, Hall and Oats and Spandau Ballet being real highlights for me. In the end it’s incredible how this film can make you feel elated, shocked and melancholy all at the same time, but I think the best films are the kind that can make you feel all sorts of emotions and Sing Street does that in spades. The film has an inspirational and feel-good vibe to the point that it is impossible not to recommend it.

So have you seen Sing Street and if so what do you think of it? Be sure to leave your thoughts n the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

ONE PARAGRAPH REVIEW: Hell Or High Water

Howdy ladies and gents people, time for another single paragraph review and today I’ll be briefly talking about Hell Or High Water. Now on paper this film didn’t look like my of thing, but because of the cast, trailers and good word of mouth after it’s release in the US I knew I had to check it out and man I’m glad I did because it was damn good.

The story can be described as the following: “A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family’s ranch in West Texas.” I thought the story for this film was really impressive, it was thought-provoking, complex and surprisingly funny. But one of the key elements this film pulled off well was tension, on several occasions you are presented with these really intense and dangerous situations which vary from small quiet moments too much larger ones and the tension is real. Many times I was on the edge of my seat and felt my heart rate increase as I was just waiting to see how certain events unfolded and it was great. Visually the film was very nice with some wonderfully choreographed cinematography and editing and the use of music along with the film score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis was good as well. But it was the performances that really impressed me. Firstly there’s Ben Foster as Tanner Howard, this guy was a very interesting character because he was so corrupt, crazy and unpredictable, and Foster was so intense and magnetic in the role. Then there’s Chris Pine as Toby Howard, who unlike his brother was level-headed, cautious and had good intentions for what he was doing, and I loved Pine’s performance as this is the first film where you’ve gotten to see his acting talent to the fullest. Both Foster and Pine had really good chemistry which really helped you buy into their sibling bond. Oh and Jeff Bridges as Marcus Hamilton was also great, I loved this character because he was perceptive, wise and new how to crack jokes or be sarcastic at just the right time, plus he had some notable dramatic moments too. Oh and finally Gil Birmingham as Alberto Parker was someone I didn’t expect to like as much as I did but he was also really good in his role as well. so Hell or High Water, it’s a great film, more so than I thought it’s be and I’d recommend it highly. 🙂

So that was my review, have you seen Hell Or High Water and if so what did you think of it? Please leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

PODCAST: Film Focus Episode 16 – Sausage Party Review

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, back in April I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well. after another week off because of a bust time with work and a wedding I’m back with my first review since Suicide Squad in the form of Sausage Party.

Anyway here’s the 16th episode:

So you have the option of reading my smaller review I did earlier on today or you could listen to the better and extended cut of my thoughts on the film where I go a little more in-depth with the story and characters.

As I said before in each episode I’ll cover a different topic and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂

You can find my main site on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/film_focus

Or if you’re on iTunes subscribe and rate me on there: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/film-focus/id1114233892?mt=2

So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀

 

ONE PARAGRAPH REVIEW: Sausage Party

Howdy ladies and gents people, time for another single paragraph review and today I’ll be briefly talking about Sausage Party. Now I was always curious about the film from the time of its announcement to the start of the marketing, and while the trailers didn’t blow me away, as a fan of animation I had to give it a watch.

The plot for the film can be summed up as the following: “The film is about one sausage leading a group of supermarket products on a quest to discover the truth about their existence and what really happens when they become chosen to leave the grocery store.” The interesting thing about the story was that there was much more to it than the trailers let on (well done marketing team), there’s was a lot of inventive, smart and layered elements that went into the story and it was fairly captivating for the most part. Though I will admit the humour was a bit hit and miss for me and the overly sexual nature of the film was a bit much times, and there’s one moment towards the end that kind of ruined the immersion of the film (Those of you who have seen the latter half of the The Lego Movie should pick up on what I’m on about). But for all the stuff that I didn’t love, there was a lot of stuff to appreciate like the film references, and visual presentation which was incredible with the impressive and varied character design, animation and cinematography. Oh and the use of music and overall film score was good too. And finally the voice cast was pretty solid too with Seth Rogen and a lot of his familiar acting people surrounding him once again. Everyone did a good job in their roles but I’ll just highlight certain people: Seth Rogen as Frank was pretty cool, he was interesting and well-rounded character and I appreciated how Rogen was more of a character than his usual self. I also really liked Kristen Wiig as Brenda Bunson, she was sassy, direct and had some good lines too. Michael Cera surprised as Barry (because oft he voice), he was a character I didn’t think I’d like and ended up being one of my favourites.Jonah Hill who I recognised straight away was great as Carl, while Nick Kroll was also good as Douche, and Salma Hayek was another instantly recognisable voice as Teresa del Taco who was another memorable character with a lot of passion charisma. I also loved Edward Norton as the Woody Allen-esque bagel Sammy Bagel Jr., Norton really surprised with his voice work and Sammy was a really likeable dude. And David Krumholtz was also funny too as Kareem Abdul Lavash with his beef with Sammy Bagel. Other actors worth noting were Bill Hader, James Franco, Craig Robinson and Paul Rudd.The strange thing about Sausage Party is that it turned out being the exact film I thought it’d be with the over-the-top and crude humour full of your standard set of sex, drugs and violent-related humour that comes with a R/15 rated US comedy, but at the same time it was incredibly creative, fun, silly, stupid, well-thought out and entertaining. At the end of the day this is one of those films you’ll either love or hate, but I enjoyed it more than I expected and I’d say its worth a watch. 🙂

So that was my review, have you seen Sausage Party and if so what did you think of it? Please leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀