QUICK THOUGHTS: Avengers: Infinity War Trailer

Howdy ladies and gents, how’s it going? So I just got home from work around 40 or so minutes ago and just remembered the new trailer for Avengers: Infinity War was released a few hours ago, so I just watched it and wanted to share my brief thoughts on it

Check out the trailer below:

So my initial impressions were this, “Oh my god, I’m in love!” I don’t think my words will be able to do the trailer justice and while I don’t want to watch it too many times, I’ve already seen it twice and I’ve got goosebumps! I want to avoid spoilers, but at the same time, I REALLY want to watch it like 10 more times! All throughout the trailer you feel the weight and significance of what’s happening, not only is this all the heroes coming together to face a threat larger than anything that’s come before, but it is the culmination of 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and you can see it with the Marvel logo sequence, the number of characters, locations and glowing items, but also audio-wise with Nick Fury’s speech from the Avengers being spoke by him and few other heroes, and of course they put in the Alan Silvestri Avengers theme song in there as the icing on the cake in both a darker and positive light too. That was just gorgeous for me as a massive fan of that theme song! And Thanos, wow, I REALLY pray that he’s the villain we’ve all been hoping for, not another Hela or Ultron who look cool from the trailers, but only end up being decent/average. So far he looks and talks like a badass, he looks pretty intimidating, his words feel menacing and he’s just messing people up left right and center including Spider-Man and Iron Man.

But what about what happens in the trailer? Well there’s so much to mention so here are my highlights:

• There’s a massive battle in Wakanda with Black Panther, his army, plus the Avengers and some aliens? Sweet!
• Vision and Scarlet Witch look close which means their relationship is finally happening on-screen! YAAAY!
• Vision’s probably screwed as he’s shouting as someone’s trying to get that infinity stone out of his head.
• Spider-Man’s new suit looks much better in motion than it did near the end of Homecoming.
• Peter Parker’s arm hair stands up, spidey sense confirmed!
• How badass does Steve Rogers look now?
• I’m curious to see how Banner ended up with Doctor Strange and Wong, and how Tony Stark ends up there too.
• The sense of scale in this film is immense with all the big ships, and the way the cinematography frames some of those battle sequences.
• That last scene with Thor meeting the Guardians in their ship, love it.
• The overall tone feels dark and dire and I love it, very Age of Ultron, I really hope Marvel commit to this tone in the film and give us some damn good drama!

In the end, I’m stupidly excited, I’m not gonna lie, I think my experience of watching the first trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron may still be my favourite of the Marvel Studios films so far, but this trailer, this trailer had so much going on and carried a lot of significance. It is a delicious trailer full of so many moments of hype, excitement, curiosity, mystery and seriousness. If this film is half as good as I hope it’ll be, then I will frigging blow up in May 2018, no joke! 😛

So have you seen the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War trailer and if so what did you think of it? Are you hyped, curious or underwhelmed? Let me know in comments section below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

ONE PARAGRAPH REVIEW: Dead Man Down

Howdy ladies and gents, time for another quick review and today I’m talking about Dead Man Down. Now, this is one of the many films that’s been on my watchlist on Amazon Video for AGES, and since I wanted to watch a film that wasn’t too long, but was also on the overdue section of my watchlist I decided to give this film a watch. So is this film a good watch or not? Well read on and find out! 😀

The plot can be summed up as the following: “In New York City, a crime lord’s right-hand man is helped by a woman seeking retribution.“

Now I don’t want to say too much about the plot in the summary above, so just check out the trailer below if you want any additional information. I watched this film completely blind and I thought this film was fun, but not too captivating throughout. If you have seen any thriller with a revenge plot then you’ve experienced a lot of these story elements before, and at first, you’re intrigued by the main character and his ties these criminals and this mysterious woman. That being said, certain things start out a little slow and there seemed to be a few moving parts to story that I wasn’t sure how they’d serve the main story. However, once some plot twists and revelations come to light the picks up and gets quite exciting. While some plot points play out as you’d expect, there were some minor aspects that turned out differently than I expected which was nice. One of the things that elevate the film is the cast, firstly there’s Colin Farrell as Victor, he doesn’t talk much especially early on, however, as the film goes on we get to learn more about him and understand his motivations, and it also helps that Farrell can be intimidating and likeable. Noomi Rapace as Beatrice is also really good, she’s a woman deeply affected by an accident that left her physically and mentally scarred and at first, it was interesting to learn about her backstory and how she tied to current events of the plot, and Rapace is so charming, strong and cute in this role, and I think this is the most attracted I’ve been to her as an actress so far. Farrell and Rapace have solid and cute chemistry together. Also, Dominic Cooper is good as Darcy, I liked his connection to Victor and how he played detective to find out the truth of an important death earlier on. Also, Terrence Howard did play a decent villain in the form of as Alphonse Hoyt, he’s smooth yet aggressive and has some great moments to chew scenery and in some ways, this character feels like a precursor to his role in Empire. And finally, Isabelle Huppert as Beatrice’s mother Maman was nice, offering light-hearted and subtle moments of drama with her daughter. Visually the film is pretty good. It felt like there was a strong sense of direction when it came to the action as it was shot and framed well, had some nice violence and gunfights, and the final action sequence in a house was pretty damn cool. Also, the film score from Jacob Groth was good and had some lovely dramatic and emotional moments. In conclusion, Dead Man Down was a decent film, it wasn’t overly original and was a little slow and predictable at points, the performances, style, action and latter half of the film kept me engaged.

So have you seen Dead Man Down and if so what did you think of it? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya in the next review, laters! 😀

 

PODCAST: Film Focus Episode 43 – Justice League Review (Spoilers!)

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, last year I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast, I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well on a biweekly basis. As for the latest episode, it is a recap/review of the summer movies of 2017!

Anyway here’s the episode 43:

I’ve done already done my written review for Justice League, however, there was so much more for me to say about this film that I couldn’t put in my original review. So in this podcast episode, I just expand upon some basic points and then get into full-on spoilers after 21:39, so for those who have seen the film and want to hear my thoughts about some of the more significant elements of the film, both good and bad, then that section is for you.

As I mentioned before I’ll cover a different topic or review in each episode 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 in future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀

 

EPIC REVIEW: Justice League

Howdy ladies and gents, its time for another review and today I get to talk about one of the biggest films of the year, Justice League. Now to say that the lead up to this film has been rough would be an understatement, with the mostly negative feedback to Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad and the success of Wonder Woman, the odds were stacked against this film. Add on top of that the fact that Zack Snyder left the film because of family tragedy, Joss Whedon had to step in to finish the films and since then there were numerous conflicting reports about what had changed, and how much of the film was changed because of Whedon’s involvement. Anyway, the film’s out, the reception’s been mixed and now its time for me to throw my thoughts into the mix! 🙂

So the plot can be described as the following:

“A new evil force comes to Earth threatening to bring about the end of the world, and so Bruce Wayne and Wonder Woman work together to find and recruit a team of special individuals including Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash to stand against this newly awakened threat.”

So the plot of the film was good, not great, but solid. Firstly I liked the backstory involving the main villain, different races and the Mother Boxes, that along with certain dialogue about locations, history and characters helped flesh out the world and create mythology that was interesting and intriguing, it not only built on what we got in Man of Steel, Batman V Superman and Wonder Woman, but helped make this film more engaging and left the door open for future films to build on. I also appreciated how the story was simple, yet layered with themes relating to teamwork, death, leadership, moving on from the past and finding courage in the face of uncertainty. There was also some wonderful references to the comics with certain scenes and dialogue which made me smile a lot too. That being said there were some issues, certain scenes dragged or felt boring, there were some tonal inconsistencies, and some of the humour was good and some of it fell a bit flat and ill-timed. And some of the plot decisions were a little basic and certain dramatic or important elements were resolved quickly without enough time to simmer.

As for the cast, I liked them, some more than others. Let’s start with Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne, now some people like him as Batman, some hate him, I fall into the former category. Affleck’s portrayal of Batman was one of my favourite parts of BvS and he’s put to better use in this film. I liked how Bruce was strong-willed, focused, yet reckless and uncertain. Gal Gadot was quite good as Wonder Woman, it was interesting her in the modern world, dealing with issues not only with her past but also with some of the actions of her teammates too, Gadot has certainly found her groove with this role and besides being super beautiful, she’s confident, strong and smart. Ezra Miller as The Flash was a worry for me before watching this film because of my love for Grant Gustin’s version, but I did like this cooky, strange and lighthearted guy, he was mainly there for comic relief, but he some serious and smart moments too, and Miller’s charisma was magnetic. Jason Momoa as Aquaman was cool, he’s this serious, yet chilled out and funny kind of guy who does the right thing when the tie is right. The real surprise was Ray Fisher as Cyborg, I thought he looked like the most boring character from the trailers and he ended up being one of my highlights of the team with his attitude towards the way he was created, his interactions with the team and his importance to the plot, Fisher’s portrayal was quite engaging. The team as a whole had a wonderful dynamic filled with humorous and aggressive tendencies which made their eventual formation and scenes on and off of the battlefield nice.

Ciarán Hinds had a nice intimidating presence as the voice as Steppenwolf, unfortunately, the villain was a little on the generic side. I also liked Henry Cavill is definitely in the film and he was quite good (not a spoiler, it’s in the trailers), Jeremy Irons as Alfred was just as fun, as he was in BvS offering insightful information while providing some good jokes here and there, seeing the return of Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta, was welcomed, Amy Adams and Diane Lane was fine as Lois Lane and Martha Kent, Joe Morton as Silas Stone was fine, but I thought it was more interesting that he was the guy from Terminator 2 in this film haha, and Amber Heard’s introduction to this world as Mera was cool. And finally, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon was good and liked his version of the character, I just wish there was more of him, there wasn’t enough! 😛

When it comes to the presentation it was good for the most part. Visually the film was nice, the was some lovely attention to detail with the way certain shots were framed and the cinematography the action sequences were a mixture of creative and fun scenes that ranged from the heroes fighting the bad guy, to the heroes fighting each other and many others, and it looked great. But there were a few moments where following the action was a little tricky, the GCI was also a little dodgy with certain faces, body movements and locations lacking in detail. The music from Danny Elfman was something I was paying attention to from the beginning and I quite enjoyed it. Elfman’s score is one that has a presence, it is full of impact, drama, triumph, playfulness and while it isn’t as memorable as some of his previous work, the way he worked in the classic Batman and Superman themes, from Batman 89′ and Superman 78′ was delightful.

In conclusion, what can I say? I liked Justice League, it was much better than I expected considering my low expectations, and while this film doesn’t reinvent the genre or does anything in an amazing fashion, it was pretty fun with some good action, good characters and solid music. Besides issues with the story, tone and villain, the film was certainly a step in the right direction for this cinematic universe,

So have you seen Justice League and if so what did you think of it? Was it better or worse than you expected? Also, how does it compare to the previous DCEU films? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below and I’ll see ya in the next review, laters! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #38

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. It is week 38, and today I’ll be giving you my thoughts on Big Mouth, Inhumans, Lucifer, and Star Wars Rebels. Be careful for spoilers! With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀

Big Mouth (Season 1)

So at the request of a mate from work, I decided to give this show a chance and its been an interesting watch. Big Mouth’s very bizarre, crass and overtly sexual, and sometimes you’ll be surprised by what the creators of this show were able to put into this cartoon. The style of humour which focuses on sex-related material has never been my cup of tea as it can sometimes feel juvenile, crude and over-the-top just for the sake of shock value, and while not every joke this show threw at me worked, there was something oddly captivating about this world, cast of characters, storylines and humour that kept me coming back, Big Mouth is surprisingly fun, creative and relatable in a strange and stupid kind of way. What I really liked about this show is the core concept of these main children hitting puberty and transitioning into teenagehood and having these physical manifestations of their hormones contribute to their real-life decisions. While episodes could be treated as singular episodic adventures, the plot points started in certain episodes continue throughout the season with some interesting and hilarious outcomes. It is a simple, smart and creative way of providing a fictional yet realistic way to why teenagers at that age would act in such an erratic, impulsive and bizarre manner. While some of these scenarios could only exist in the realm of fiction, the show presents os many real-life issues when it comes to relationships, friendship, being affected by physical body changes or problematic parent relationships. I could see some of the same anxiety and issues I experienced back in school in some of these situations. Visually the show’s solid, the animation is good, but it is the art that starts out the most. Like the show’s humour and the concept it is a bit odd, most characters have exaggerated body features especially when it comes the big heads and lips. The character designs are a tad simple not that appealing to the eye, however, they certainly are distinctive and if you don’t like it at first you’ll eventually adjust to it after a few episodes. Oh and the cast and characters are all good, but my favourites would be Nick Kroll as the creepy yet entertaining Maurice the Hormone Monster, Jordan Peele as The Ghost of Duke Ellington (he’s so weird and funny) and Maya Rudolph who kills it as the sassy and crazy Connie the Hormone Monstress.

Inhumans (Season 1) “… And Finally: Black Bolt”

And so after 8 weeks, Inhumans has ended its first season with episode 8, and all I can say is wow, what a waste. To talk about the recent episode briefly it ranged from okay to terrible, there were some decent parts here an there, but as a final episode, it left me wanting more. The fact that Gorgon was able to be “cured” of his madness from his resurrection via terrigenesis from having Karnak and Black Bolt talk to him was horrible, I wish it had been an issue that had taken longer to cure. I did enjoy seeing Triton fight some dudes and the final scenes with Black Bolt and Maximus was good, thanks mainly to Anson Mount’s body language and facial expressions, and while Black Bolt sealing his brother away on the moon alone instead of killing him is a plot element I have seen done before, it was one of the better moments in the series. Clearly, those markings on the chair in the throne room means something, but I doubt we’ll see a follow-up to that anytime soon. As for the Inhumans little triumphant moment on Earth where Medusa makes her speak about changing the status quo and making a new life, it felt so unearned and cheap.

As for the show on a whole. Everyone knew it’d be bad especially from the trailers, but it is sad that there weren’t any hidden redeeming qualities for the show beyond what the marketing shared. I thought that the first 3-4 episodes were underwhelming, but had some decent elements and showed promise for something decent. But annoyingly the issues that the show had from the beginning when it comes to bad dialogue, okay to weak action scenes, dull cinematography, basic visual effects and set design, unlikable characters and a painfully basic and unsatisfying story continued right into the end of the season. From the beginning, things are spelt out pretty clearly, the royal family are unlikable protagonists and Maximus is the antagonist who will rise up and overthrow them, and because of the bad writing, you’re on the side of the bad guy. Until later you see he’s a selfish asshole with an inferiority complex who will dispose of anyone who isn’t on his good side, so you want to see the heroes take him down even though seeing them in power wouldn’t rectify the issues that existed when the show started. However, because of their experiences on Earth, they’re changed people which means they’ll be better rulers. And by the end of the show it feels like they’ve learnt some life lessons, however, I don’t feel like these characters should have been like this in the first place. Most of the characters are boring, generic, selfish and cliché, lots of supporting cast members come and go whether they are human sidekicks or Maximus henchmen, none of them stand out in a significant or memorable way, at least not in a good way. The only good characters were Black Bolt and Karnak, the latter I liked because of his ability and character arc, but it was mainly Black Bolt I enjoyed. While his character doesn’t change much from episode 1-8, he has the best scenes, interactions and screen presence, and that’s thanks to Anson Mount who basically carries this show on his shoulders, without him the show would have been so much worse. And Iwan Rheon as Maximus, there was an inkling of a good villain, a tragic one that would have worked, but he was given such terrible material to work with that he became more of a nuisance than an engaging character. So after this, I doubt Inhumans will be back for another season unless it was extremely overhauled or rebooted, and as it stands while Iron Fist pissed me off with how boring it was, this show stands right next to it as an example of how to waste such good source material and turn it into a disappointing and meandering mess.

Lucifer (Season 3) “Off the Record“

This week’s episode of Lucifer was not only the best episode of the season but also one of, if not the strongest episodes of the show so far. I thought it was interesting to see Reese, a man who apparently escaped death on this path of revenge after finding out his wife had been cheating on him with Lucifer. That alone was an interesting story for an episode, but considering that all of the revelations that showed up as the episode went on was nothing short of brilliant. Firstly having Patrick Fabian from Better Call Saul in this show was awesome, he’s an incredibly talented actor and he plays crafty characters so well. Seeing him pretend to be friendly to Lucifer and Decker, but then plotting and scheming in the background was very engaging. At first, he’s just on this simple path of vengeance, but after he seeing Lucifer’s face he goes to great lengths to take him down and by the latter half of the episode he’s made so many mistakes and missteps that it’s no surprise that he met his end by his own doing. I also loved learning the reveal that Reese and Linda were married and he’s still trying to rekindle the marriage, this was the best material Linda’s had since season 2 as it gave Rachael Harris ample screen time to do some really lovely work opposite Fabian. I also liked the case with the mysterious serial killer and his eventual reveal as the guy Reese seeks out to get Lucifer, his turn while talking to a dying Reese in his office was so sinister and cool. Tom Welling as always has the right level of charm, wit and humour that makes Lucifer such a captivating character, Decker didn’t get as much screen time as usual but I enjoyed her as well as the appearances of Maze and Dan. Also having the ending play out the same as the beginning was a smart/intriguing ending. Now it makes me think if that’s happened in the real world already and if so when? Oh one more thing, Lucifer’s devil face, if the events of this episode happened recently does that mean he has the face back? Or did this happen prior to the events of season 3? I’m so curious! 😛

 

Star Wars Rebels (Season 4) “Rebel Assault”

So far season 4 of Rebels has been pretty cool, the first two episodes “Heroes of Mandalore Part 1 & 2” and “In the Name of the Rebellion Part 1 & 2” have been great, and I enjoyed most of “Kindred” too. And “Rebel Assualt” is the first taste of the tone, atmosphere and seriousness that I’ve been hearing about and looking forward to before this season started. We’ve heard for a while now, that season 4 of Rebels was when the Empire was going to step up and become a real threat and the rebels would start feeling the pressure and be less successful than before and that was certainly felt here. Hera and her assault team were able to break through an Imperial blockade but were mostly taken out by the second legion of ships, and while Hera, Chopper and one other guy did well to fend off that assassin Rukh, but in the end, Hera was captured by the Empire. It’s been a while since the heroes faced a real danger, where the odds we staked against them and the bad guys have felt competent at stopping the rebels. While Rebels hasn’t been the best debut for Grand Admiral Thrawn, he has shown moments of strategic talent, and this episode was good because it showed that he had planned ahead, so even if the rebels got through the space battle, on the planet he had another wave of ships to take out the enemy with ease. Good stuff. Also, I loved how serious and urgent this episode felt, from the beginning, you’re thrown straight into the action and get all these cool moments of hand-to-hand combat, dogfights between X-wings and TIE fighters and some small moments of dialogue, heroism and sacrifice. I really liked the way this episode looked, some of the cinematogrphy during the action sceens were great, and the colour scheme on Lothal epsiecally when the rebel ships were falling out of the sky, beautiful. I am curious what the Loth-Wolf told Kanan to do, guess we’ll have to wait until later to find that out.

Well, that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of this show? 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! 😀

 

QUICK REVIEW: Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!

Howdy ladies and gents, time a film review from the cinema and this is a review I didn’t expect to be writing as I’m gonna be giving you my thoughts on the latest Pokémon film, Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! Now I heard from a friend that this film would get a UK release but thought it’d be exclusive to London where I could see it, but after a friend mentioned on Twitter that she was gonna see it in Sheffield, I looked at my local cinema and to my surprise, they had two screenings! So I watched the earlier screening and I’m ready to share my thoughts.

Now before I go on with the review I’m going to say this up front, I have a MASSIVE nostalgic love for Pokemon when it comes to the original games and first anime series, so this review will be a little on the subjective side. With all that being said let’s begin.

Firstly there’s the story which focuses on the journey of Ash Ketchum and Pikachu along with two new companions who join him on his quest to find the legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh. So the interesting thing about the story is how its a loose retelling of the original 1997 anime with focus on Ash and Pikachu and how their journey began, there’s a lot of fun, smart and delightful callbacks and direct references for those who watched that show and I was smiling so much. 😀 I enjoyed the plot borrowed the anime and referenced the video games, but was largely its own original tale. It was full of adventure, fun, hardship, danger and more, the film’s core themes about friendship, learning from your mistakes, good triumphing over evil and being good to Pokemon should come as no surprise to veterans of the show, but they are handled very well and have more dramatic and emotional weight than a good few of the original films. There was one part where I rolled my eyes because it felt like a direct reference to The First Movie and one line of dialogue which was just cheesy as hell, that being said the film’s made with children in my mind so I got over it.

As for the characters, I thought they were solid for the most part. Ash Ketchum was the same character I knew from the show, a young, strong-willed and passionate trainer who is inexperienced and has a lot to learn. I was surprised how much of douche Ash was in this film, but it certainly worked in the context of the story, I still was annoyed with him at times, but he wasn’t as much of a bonehead as he was in the old anime, and Sarah Natochenny did a decent job as Ash considering her deeper voice. I liked Pikachu too, he was a sassy little prick at first but that was a good point in my mind, afterwards, I really grew to like him a lot more and his bond with Ash was cute to watch. The new characters Sorrel and Verity were interesting new companions, some will complain they aren’t the original characters, but I thought they added something new with their backstories and personality traits. Cross was the new rival/bad trainer who was the definition of an asshole, but he was great and had a solid arc in the film, I liked the quirky old man Bonzi and Marshadow, I liked at first but it really became a little pest later on. And finally Professor Oak and Ash’s mother return and feel just like the original selves, and Even Team Rocket return and they have some fun moments, but I swear they were even more useless than before and really added nothing to the film which was a shame after their initial introduction.

When it comes to the presentation I really liked it. Visually the film was solid. The way the camera work added a cinematic approach to that the anime lacked, certain shots are framed and tracked in cool and dynamic ways. Also, the art and animation were very nice, all of the characters and Pokemon had a loose yet fluid style to their movements and the colour scheme was good. I will admit the detail in the art was lacking occasionally and some of the 3D CGI didn’t always blend well with the 2D material, both those are minor nitpicks. The film score was fairly good, it had the right sound for each moment and worked effectively in the emotional moments, though sometimes the music didn’t match the action on-screen. And while the music is primarily original compositions, there are some cool references to the original soundtrack and theme song which was much appreciated.

In conclusion Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! was really fun, intriguing and much better than I expected, it captured the spirit of the original show but also did a lot of new things to keep things interesting. If you’re a fan of the show you may be disappointed with some changes, however, if you’re willing to accept a few changes you’ll have a lot of fun. And stay for the credits, its hella fun and nostalgic! 🙂

So have you seen this film 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 the next review! 😀

 

The Importance of Film Scores & Composers

Good day to you ladies and gents, today I would like to share with you a topic of conversation I’ve wanted to cover on this blog for a number of years in the form of film scores and composers. Now if you’ve followed this blog for a while you’ll be well aware of my love for films scores and when there is great music in the I always try to bring attention to it in my reviews, and so recently I made an episode about this topic on my podcast and wanted to share it with you. 😀

So what does this episode contain? Well here’s a little breakdown:

• What Makes a Good Film Score & Why It Is Important
• My Mountain Rushmore of Composers
• Some of My Other Favourite Composers

There’s a lot more to the episode beyond those bullet points as I get descriptive with certain soundtracks, themes and composers as well. Covering films from Back to the Future to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and talking about composers like Danny Elfman, James Horner and Howard Shore, I do as much as I can to cover as many aspects of films scores and composers as possible without making the episode go on forever. Anyway check out the episode below:

I hope you enjoy the episode, this is a particular topic I’ve wanted to do on this blog for around 3 years. It was originally drafted as a blog post around 2 years ago and I added to it now and then until this year when I realised I wanted to change it into a podcast episode so I could properly communicate my feelings about the subject. It really is a passion project and while it didn’t turn out as perfectly as I had hoped, I feel like it is a good representation of my original vision.

So that’s me done. What do you think? Do you think that film scores are important to film or are you not fussed about it? And if you do like film scores and if so what are some of your favourite composers and soundtracks? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for reading and I’ll see ya in the next post, laters! 😀

 

QUICK REVIEW: Fist of Fury

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to another quick review and today I get to talk about a film I’ve wanted to review on this blog for a while and it is one of the classic martial arts films, Fist of Fury. So is this film a good watch or not? Well read on and find out! 😀

The plot can be summed up as the following: “Returning to Shanghai to marry his fiancée, Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) a student of renowned martial arts teacher Huo Yuanjia, discovers his sifu has died. During the funeral, members of a local Japanese dojo show up and insult the Chinese students. What follows is a quest for answers and tale of revenge..“

The interesting thing about Fist of Fury is that I’ve seen it before this film, well at least the last 30 or so minutes, however, I’ve never seen it in full and have been meaning to for years and since it arrived on Amazon Prime Video recently I thought it was a perfect opportunity to check it out. So now that I’ve seen it I can say that, without hesitation that I really liked this film. It could be just because it is a Bruce Lee film and I’m a bit obsessed with him and his films, but I thought the film was genuinely entertaining and captivating. I felt like the story felt a little simple, however, as the story unfolded it showed more layers beyond just a tale of revenge and a feud between two martial arts schools, it touched upon the difference in culture, racism, and the complicated moral and ethical issues that come with taking the law into your own hands. By the latter half of the film, you feel like you’ve been on quite the journey. Beyond the serious elements, there are a good few humourous moments too with certain jokes, physical humour during fight scenes or with the English dubbed voices haha. That isn’t to say the story doesn’t have some issues, you have to suspend your disbelief as certain things take place and you’d wonder why the authorities hadn’t gotten involved already or why certain characters would make some decisions, and sometimes realism is just thrown out the window, but these are minor issues at best.

The performances in the film are good from everyone, for the most part, I especially liked Nora Miao as Yuan Li’er (Chen Zhen’s fiancée), Riki Hashimoto as Hiroshi Suzuki,  and Paul Wei as the slimy translator Wu En. But of course, you watch the film for Bruce Lee and he was really good as Chen Zhen, here we have a guy who is strong-willed, confident, smart and passionate, however, he’s got a bit of a temper and doesn’t always think about his actions before heading off to do something. I was surprised he was able to get away with so much in a lot of ways but at the same time the fact that he went around just doing what he wanted just made me love him more. He’s like a volcano that you don’t want to be in front of when it erupts, then he becomes this force of nature that takes out people left, right and center with style and ferocity and I love it. Visually the film is pretty good. The cinematography is handled well, like many of Bruce Lee’s film, I like the way the camera lurks on the actors on-screen allowing you to see the fight very cearly from a distance and different angles as well. Whether it is from a high angle, close up, medium shot or those intimate first-person shots, you get to experience the action in a variety of ways with cuts between actions used effectively. The fight choreography is really fun, you get to see punches, kicks, grapples and the use of weapons is cool and brutal ways, some hits do lack impact, but when Lee is throwing down everyone gets owned is such beastly and creative ways, I love when Lee does his combos and final blows, they are so beautiful. Oh, and I also like how slow motion and the use of sound and music is used to highlight the really dramatic moments too. Also, the film score from Joseph Koo was good and had some lovely and sweet moments especially with the scenes with Chen and Yuan. In conclusion, Fist of Fury was a very interesting, intense and fun martial arts film which has a story with more depth than I expected, a magnetic central performance from Bruce Lee and some super fun and slick action scenes. For fans of this genre, it is a must watch.

So have you seen Fist of Fury and if so what did you think of it? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀