AUDIO REVIEW: Captain Marvel

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, I’m here again to bring you another review and today I’m sharing my thoughts on Captain Marvel via my podcast, Film Focus.

Now here’s the thing, I saw this film over a week ago, and I uploaded the review on Soundcloud at the start of last week, and yet I just didn’t get around to posting it on here. So yeah my thoughts may seem a little redundant considering how quickly people take information these days, but for those who are interested in my opinion, well here it is:

So have you seen Captain Marvel and if so what did you think of it? I really want to hear your thoughts on this film so drop your thoughts in the comments below and if you have some spare time subscribe to my podcast, Film Focus on Soundcloud and iTunes. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

AUDIO REVIEW: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, its review time once again and last Friday I checked out Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and I some thoughts on it that I wanted to share, so today I’ll be giving you my review for this film via my podcast, Film Focus.

Now I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first Fantastic Beasts film in 2016 and so I wasn’t overly hyped for the sequel, however, the trailers actually got me intrigued to see where this new chapter would go. So after seeing it on opening night how it fare? Well, listen to this episode for some casual and fun spoiler-free discussion! 😀

P.S. I butcher a few names here and there so don’t bash me too much please and thank you haha.

Check out my thoughts on both films in episode 62 below:

So have you seen Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and if so what did you think of it? Whatever your thoughts are, drop them in the comments below and if you have some spare time check out my podcast, Film Focus on Soundcloud and iTunes. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

The Grand Budapest Hotel Review

Good day to you ladies and gents, time for another new film review and this one comes in the form of The Grand Budapest Hotel. Now I’ve only watched two Wes Anderson films in the past and they were Fantastic Mr. Fox (really good) and more recently Moonrise Kingdom (brilliant), so I was really intrigued to see what this man was gonna do next and when I saw the trailers I thought it looked amazing. So after watching it today how do I think the film fared? Well read on and find out.

Story:

“GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune — all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.”

The tale of this film is pretty interesting as it takes a non-liner approach and jumps between the present and the past where the primary meat of the film takes place. The themes in this film involves friendship, trust, love and vengeance among other things, it is all very entertaining, humourous and bizarre but never does it feel uninteresting thanks to some good pacing and energetic nature. The film doesn’t quite reach the emotional or funny levels of Moonrise Kingdom, but it really is good.

When it comes to the cast the film is just filled to the maximum with talent left right and center and while not everyone gets a great deal of screen time, it is just nice to see their faces.

Ralph Fiennes as M. Gustave H. is simply brilliant, he brings his natural charisma, charm and a lot of passion to the roll. Gustave H. has very high standards and expects nothing less of perfection, Fiennes is a man who can do no wrong in my eyes. Tony Revolori is great as Zero Moustafa, I really liked his moments of humour and he seemed to handle his scenes really well considering the more expressed cast around him. Adrien Brody as Dmitri is great, it is not that often when Brody takes on a more villainous role, but he looks amazing and has some really funny moments. Willem Dafoe has to be my favourite character as J.G. Jopling, the dude constantly looks moody and dodgy as hell, is so questionable and dangerous and I love Dafoe’s expression throughout the film. Jeff Goldblum is a nother great actor as Deputy Kovacs, I love the way this man spoke, he was smart, sophisticated, calm and innocent, but because it was Goldblum it is awesome.

Saoirse Ronan is charming and pretty as Agatha and Tilda Swinton is just unrecognizable as Madame D., her dialogue Mathieu Amalric is good as Serge X., he was pretty good but I couldn’t remember his face for the life of me until I checked him out on IMDB and saw that he was that funny villain from Quantum of Solace. Jason Schwartzman continues to be really interesting as M. Jean, the guy is very lazy, but also very funny and it just the little things like his mannerisms that make me smile. Bill Murray as M. Ivan I was hoping to see a lot more of but he was still pretty cool. Other people that were good were Jude Law as Young Writer, F. Murray Abraham as Mr. Moustafa, Edward Norton as Inspector Henckels, Léa Seydoux as Clotilde, Owen Wilson as M. Chuck and Bob Balaban as M. Martin.

As for the presentation it is very good on both the visual and audio front. Visually just like Anderson’s other films it is one of the film’s best aspects. There is some interesting, dynamic and unconventional camera shots and sequences used with very close camera shots, tracking shots and the use of green screen and CGI that make the film so much more fictional than real, but strangely it still works. At points watching this film was like watching a live action version of Looney Tunes which was totally hilarious and nostalgic. The soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat is another highlight of the film as it fits with the random nature of the film having various songs for different scenarios.

In conclusion The Grand Budapest Hotel is very good film full of charm, wit and touching moments sprinkled all over. While this isn’t my favourite Wes Anderson film, I definitely had a good time with it and I can easily recommend it because it is one of best films of the year so far.

Rating: 8/10

So what did you think of The Grand Budapest Hotel? Have you seen it or are you gonna see it? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next film review yo. 🙂

 

Rise of the Guardians Review

All I can say is finally! I’ve been meaning to watch this film for a week and after my chaotic week with uni I thought I’d never get around to it, but luckily I got into the cinema and watched Rise of the Guardians and I thought it was awesome!

The story in the film involves the Guardians, a group made up of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman, who enlist Jack Frost to stop Pitch (the Boogeymen) from engulfing the world in darkness. The story overall is pretty decent, offering a fun tale with an interesting take on these imaginary characters that reside within the minds of children, it does have the right amount of emotion and humour that one could find in these types of animated films. Unfortunately the plot does fall into familiar territory and feels a little generic in places, and there were a few instances where the film had a few ideas that weren’t fully capitalized on. One should note though at the center of this film is Jack Frost, it is his story after all. It is he who longs to be seen and believed in, it is also he who is recruited into the group of the Guardians, and finally he is the one who has the key element necessary to take on the Boogeymen. This was my favourite aspect of the film, I was really invested in his story and I connected with it a lot.

Another strong aspect of Rise of the Guardians is its characters, the creative, intricate and colourful takes on these characters is pretty damn awesome. Chris Pine as Jack Frost is very cool, likeable, funny and relatable. He is the carefree spirit of winter that lives by his own rules, but also longs to be seen, and appreciated like the other Guardians. His character transforms over the course of the film and I like the journey he goes on too. One of the scene-stealers would be Alec Baldwin as North aka Santa Claus. When I found out it was Alec Baldwin doing the voice of Santa I blew up, his voice is nearly unrecognizable. This version of Santa is definitely more active, funny and interesting then the basic version that we know of in the real world. From his use of Yetis as workers to the way his elves to his amazing Russian accent, he does come across as a leader and has some of the best scenes in the film.

Also Hugh Jackman as the Easter Bunny was awesome, I loved his Australian accent and the funny lines that he had were perfect. I loved how they handled his mythology and made him such a badass, I never really cared for the Easter Bunny when  was young, but if he was anything like this then he would have been worth paying attention to. Then there’s Isla Fisher as Tooth aka Tooth Fairy who was wonderful, again like the Easter Bunny I loved the way they handled the legend behind the way she operates, Fisher was cute as Tooth and the film really did add layers to a character that could have been as plain as Tinkerbelle. And lastly the final scene-stealer would be Jude Law as Pitch aka The Boogeymen. Law was frigging amazing as Pitch, he was intimidating, cruel and had a wonderful voice and sense of humour. I liked the way his mythology was handled and how much of a force he was not only against the Guardians, but against the world too.

One thing that’s impeccable about Rise of the Guardians is the presentation. Visually its incredible and one of my favourite DreamWorks films from the use of its art direction to the incredibly detailed CGI. This is very noticeable when it comes to characters, locations and the crazy action sequences. And speaking of the action it was wonderfully animated and well-placed in terms of camera shots and angles, the flying sequences and moments of fast-paced movement were done wonderfully and I was definitely getting some vibes from Kung-Fu Panda 2 and the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films too. The soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat is pretty good too, while it’s not as memorable as the visuals, it still works as a whole and in those moments of emotion.

In conclusion Rise of the Guardians was a fun time and definitely a fine animated film. While the story is only okay and could have been more, I did enjoy Jack’s story and really did connect with him, which along with the fine voice acting, amazing visuals and awesome action sequences makes this film worth watching. I recommend Rise of the Guardians highly, I really liked this film and it’s one of my favourite films of the year.

Rating: 8/10

Alrighty then, thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts on the film in the comments below! Until the next review, later on peeps!

 

Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows Review

 

Howdy ladies and gentlemen, in this blog post I’m going to give you my review of the second Sherlock Holmes film from Guy Richie; Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

So the story of the film is an easy one to follow, basically we have Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson having to join forces again to take down their most calculating adversary, Professor Moriarty. The story in this film for me is a lot interesting than the first film because the characters in this sequel the characters are much more interesting and involved in the plot than before. Even some of the secondary cast lend themselves to the story in a great way. There is also a greater sense of danger and urgency in this film then there was in the last film and that is something I always love in sequels; having greater stakes and a deeper story for the audience to get invested in. It has been argued by some that the story is a lot further from the original source material and because of that the film has faults with the story and its characters. Overall I thought this story was pretty impressive, although I wish the writers had dived a little deeper into the darker areas of the film which would have made the characters and plot a lot better. But for the most part Sherlock Holmes 2 has a great story worth telling.

When it comes to the characters Robert Downey, Jr. as always is just incredible as Holmes, he is funny, complicated and a very strange man, but he does have a brilliant mind and the way in which he figures things out is nothing short of astounding. Holmes is also very similar to how he was in the first film, but I think this film takes him into deeper emotional territory than the before. At first I thought Holmes was an invincible smart man who couldn’t be touched but this film shows he can be hurt, physically and mentally and even the great Sherlock Holmes can get things wrong sometimes and I really liked that. When it comes to Watson, Jude Law is simply wonderful, he is the stern, yet fair friend of Holmes who brings his own level of smarts, wit and charm to the film. Even as he gets married and his life changes with his new wife we see that he still is the same man he was in the first film and like Holmes he goes though some emotional episodes that makes Watson all the better for it. Together throughout the journey of this film Holmes and Watson find that they need each other, that their bond extends further than just their journeys together, that for all the dysfunctional aspects of their relationship and all the problems that Holmes usually causes Watson in the end they really do need each other and it’s that bond that is one of the most powerful aspects of the film.

The other powerful character that completes the film is Jared Harris as Moriarty, as the antagonist he gives a much more memorable performance than Mark Strong’s villain in the last film. Unlike Strong’s character, Harris’ actually has a presence. Moriarty is one of those sort of villains that doesn’t act like one out in the open and operates behind the shadows while having a very different persona to the public as a cover. And as charming as he is, when his calculating villainy side comes out and his cruel side becomes apparent you realise he’s a force to be dealt with. He’s definitely not the type of guy you’d want to meet in a back alley at night. And the way in which Moriarty and Holmes interact is just incredible, they’re both incredibly smart and are constantly trying to outwit each other. Also Noomi Rapace is good as Simza, though I believe her character was incredibly underused and wasn’t in the film as much as I thought she’d be which was disappointing, but for what she did contribute to the film it was pretty good. The same can be said for Rachel McAdams and Kelly Reilly who reprise their roles as Irene Adler and Mary Morstan/Watson. And lastly but by no means least a special mention has to be given to Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, he was just incredible in the film, he was witty, funny and just larger than life, he had much more of a role than I thought he would, but every scene he was in he was very memorable. As usual Stephen Fry delivers.

Now when it comes to the action sequences this film does not disappoint. From the fights, to the chase sequences and everything in-between everything is on a much higher level than before. Everything is on a much bigger and better scale than the last film; Holmes’ fights are even more interestingly choreographed than before, the gun fights are on a better scale and with all of the different locations in the film all of them introduce interesting scenarios and scenes of thrills, tension and adventure. And like the previous film Hans Zimmer returns to compose the soundtrack and it’s just a good as it was in the previous film, possibly better due to the darker nature of this film. Either way Hans Zimmer continues to be invincible and cannot do any wrong.

Conclusion

Overall Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a great follow-up to the first film and in a lot of ways is much better than its predecessor. The pacing is a lot better and with a much deeper plot, good character development, a much better villain and incredible action sequences this is definitely a film worth checking out. Director Guy Ritchie and his filmmaking team have taken what has worked in the first film and re-applied it in this film on a much bigger scale and I feel they should be commended for it. A lot of film critics and audience members have given this film bad reviews stating that it’s not as good as the original or stating that the film doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself from the first film. And while some of that may be true and there were issues and elements that this sequel didn’t fully commit to, overall the film isn’t nearly as bad as many people make it out to be. It is a well-made film with action, story and its fairly intelligent too. It’s not perfect but I still enjoyed it immensely and will probably be seeing again very soon.

Rating: 8/10