Tenet Review

Howdy ladies and gentlemen, today I return with another review of a film I have been very curious to check out for a while in the form of Tenet via my podcast Film Focus.

A couple days I took my first trip back to the cinema for the first time since March to finally check out Tenet; the latest film by Christopher Nolan. Now I’d been looking forward to this film since the teaser trailer came out and was immediately intrigued and engaged by the crazy imagery and cast members involved. So is this another great film for Nolan’s filmography? Well, check out this spoiler-free review to find out.

Anyway here’s the review:

Film Focus · Episode 104 – Tenet Review

If you haven’t checked out my podcast before you can find it here: https://soundcloud.com/film_focus

So have you seen Tenet and if so what did you think of it? Did you love it or dislike it? And did it meet or exceed your expectations? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below and I’ll see ya in the next review, laters! 😀

 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review (Spoiler-Free)

Howdy ladies and gents, time for a new film review and today I’m going to be talking about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the long-awaited sequel from Marvel Studios. Now back in 2014 I loved Guardians of the Galaxy, it was an unexpected surprise of that summer and so creating a sequel that would equal or exceed the previous film was going to be a mammoth task. But anyway I saw the film yesterday/this morning as part of a double bill at Cineworld and now I’m reading to pass judgement!

The story can be summed up as the following:

“The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.”

At this point in time I’m finding it a tad difficult to formulate my thoughts into works. Guardians Vol. 2 is an interesting beast, it is really good and an overall fun adventure, however it’s also uneven and not as cohesive as the first film. So depending on how you felt about Guardians 1, this film will be more of what you enjoyed before or be a disappointment.

If the story does one thing well it is covering the main theme of family as this film has a strong emphasis on the ties between Peter Quill and his father, Gamora and Nebula, and of course the Guardians team themselves. This film shows what it means to be a family, whether you’re blood related, adopted or have a strong connection to someone and we also see the highs and lows of those relationships. Another strong element was the fact that the story also got quite emotional and dramatic and I didn’t expect that, but it was a welcome surprise. As for the humour, one the first film’s strongest points, it was a little hit or miss, some of the jokes were amazing and other didn’t land as well, plus they were coming a little too frequently for my liking, so anyone annoyed with the frequent humour in Marvel films won’t be a fan of this film. And lastly for the first time in a while Guardians Vol. 2 feels like a standalone adventure with ties to other films or the larger MCU being next to non-existent and there not being any major set up for future films. Now of course there is some set up for a sequel and some great references to the comics, but otherwise this was an isolated film, so anyone hoping for MCU connections definitely be disappointed.

As for the cast they were all very good, though some stood out more so than others. Chris Pratt is a standout as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, he has not only a great sense of timing for his humour but he’s incredibly engaging and has good dramatic moments too. Zoe Saldana was solid as Gamora, she had some good moments with Peter and Nebula, but like the last film I wish I had seen more from her. Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer like the last film had some great comedic moments, and some unexpected subtle dramatic material too, some of his jokes didn’t land but otherwise, good stuff. Baby Groot was adorable, hilarious and used well throughout, and Rocket Raccoon had some really solid moments in this film and like before, Bradley Cooper’s voice work was really great. Other returning cast members including Karen Gillan as Nebula and Michael Rooker as Yondu do really well, Nebula got a lot of additional story material that really enhanced her as a character and while Gillan’s performance was a little overdone at points I still liked her, oh and Rooker was incredible as Yondu having more dramatic and hilarious material than before and I loved the character. As for the new cast members Kurt Russell did well as Star Lord’s dad Ego, I thought he brought a dramatic sense of flair, personality and humour to this role and his scenes with Peter was great. Pom Klementieff as Mantis was so cute and funny, I liked her abilities and interactions with the guardians team and Elizabeth Debicki was interesting as Ayesha, she had some funny scenes, but other times it was a little awkward. I also appreciated the appearances from Sean Gunn, Laura Haddock and Sylvester Stallone.

When it comes to the presentation it was really solid. Visually like the previous film, we are treated to a gorgeous film with a vivid colour scheme, good cinematography, great artistic direction, really detailed CGI and action sequences that were fast, ferocious, inventive and fun to watch. The soundtrack for this film was pretty good, though not as recognisable and as varied as the previous film, and Tyler Bates returns for the film score and he crafts some really nice music, some returning themes and some new material that works well with the on-screen action.

So to conclude Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was a solid sequel, it did well to advance the story of the characters, had good action, humour and heart. However, the uneven story, misuse of certain characters and a not so solid humour prevent it from being the amazing sequel I thought it could be. And so how would one compare this film to the other MCU films. Well as a sequel I’d say it’s better than the worst two films, Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World, and Iron Man 3, so I’d say it’s sort of on the same level as Age of Ultron, okay now here me out before you verbally attack me. Age of Ultron is a film I that had a lot of great elements within but overall wasn’t as consistent and enjoyable as the previous film and I felt a similar way about this film, while not as disappointing, I felt like this film wasn’t as straightforward or consistent as the last adventure, but it’s still worth a watch.

So have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 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, laters! 😀

 

LATE QUICK REVIEW: Macbeth

Howdy people of the internet, I come to you with a film review and today I’ll be talking about Macbeth. This was a film I wanted to see purely based on the epic trailer I saw online which was so visually striking and dramatic, and even though I saw the film this before Crimson Peak Wednesday I kind of had to delay the review til now because it was hard to sum up my thoughts on the film. So was the film good or not? Well read on and find out!

So the story can be summed up as the following:

“Macbeth, a Thane of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.”

Macbeth was my favourite Shakespeare story in school because of its otherworldly nature, aggressive tone and death, however most of the story I’ve unfortunately forgotten over the last 12 years since I last read it. Parts of the story I recalled during the film, however most of it was lost to my memories.

The story was pretty interesting with the deception, death, madness and strange/supernatural-feeling elements. The tone was suitably dark, disturbing and unnerving, from the beginning the film was engaging and even though the pacing was on the slow side, once certain aspects came into play things started to get more intriguing. However, for me I don’t feel like I enjoyed the film as much as I could have because of the dialogue. Unless you’re a fan and are very familiar with the Shakespeare dialogue then you’ll be a little lost. I know I was. I got the gist just of what was going on but I would have been more invested in this film if standard english dialogue.

The cast all did a great job, however for me it was all about Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. With Fassbender as Macbeth he was great, this was a man who was strong, ambitious, but also corrupt and deluded too. Fassbender brought a great deal of passion, drama and power to the role and this may be his best dramatic performance to date. Cotillard was just as Lady Macbeth, she was strong, confident and cunning, I thought Cotillard did a great job not only with her accent but also with her physical performance and interaction with Fassbender. I also liked Sean Harris as Macduff, Paddy Considine as Banquo, Jack Reynor as Malcolm, Elizabeth Debicki as Lady Macduff and David Thewlis as King Duncan.

 

As for the presentation it was really good. Visually the film was beyond incredible, I mean wow. I love the way this film looked. The environments were shot well when it came to the interior and exterior locations, and a good deal of landscape looked great. But it was the battle sequences which really caught my eye. They were handled with such care, intensity and intimacy. The use of slow motion, close up shots, lighting and dramatic colours like red and orange really add to drama and chaos. I cannot stress enough how great these sequences came across and my words really can’t do them justice. Also Jed Kurzel’s film score is suitably atmospheric, dramatic and desolate and matches the action on-screen.

In conclusion Macbeth was a very dramatic and interesting film with great performances and incredibly beautiful visuals. Unfortunately because of the pacing and Shakespearean language barrier I couldn’t enjoy it as much I would have liked. I’ll probably be labeled as being ignorant for my thoughts and will be in the minority, but hey that’s why we all have different opinions right?

Rating: 7/10

So have you seen Macbeth and if so what did you think of it? Be sure to leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters!