Review – Green Book

The Green Book is a huge part of Black American history. Prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which did away with the vast majority of discrimination – in law at least – against Black people in the US, the Green Book was an essential tool to help Black people travelling around the US, and especially the South, find places where they would be allowed to stay and avoid places where they would definitely find trouble.

So you’d think that if you were making a movie with such a title you’d want it to be beyond reproach; a movie celebrating the triumph of black history against tremendous adversity. You’d work hard to ensure that its contents were both factually accurate and avoided cliches in which black people were only able to exist thanks to white folk. Finally, you’d probably want The Green Book to play a major starring role in getting the protagonists through to the end credits.

Unfortunately, the makers of Green Book did none of that.

Green Book is, on the face of it, the story of Doctor Donald Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a black, classically-trained pianist in the mid 20th century, and a concert tour he undertook of the deep south. For the tour he hired Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) as a driver-cum-bodyguard to help him avoid problems. So far, so interesting. A good premise, and it’s based in factual accuracy. Donald Shirley did indeed tour the deep south and he did indeed hire Tony Vallelonga (to give him his full name) as a driver.

From there, however, we take a turn towards offensive fantasy. The movie paints Dr Shirley as an effete and pretentious snob, estranged from both his family and black culture. So you end up with egregious scenes such as a white man teaching a black man about fried chicken. If you tried to be more deliberately offensive then you’d struggle.

All of which is fine, right, because this is written by a man who was there. The film, after all, is based on Tony Lip’s own memoir of the time. As always, there’s two sides to every story. Dr Shirley’s surviving family have described the movie as ‘a symphony of lies’ and rubbished almost every aspect of it. They don’t deny Tony having existed as a driver for their deceased relative but they dismiss him as someone who was maybe around for a couple of months and certainly didn’t go on to have a life long friendship with him.

So instead of a film celebrating the relatively-unknown life of a man who deserves celebration, what we have is a white saviour and white redemption story (Tony starts the film being offensively racist and ends the film being not racist – well done Tony!) written by someone whose nickname is literally derived from him being full of shit.

Outside of the story, the film itself is very good. The acting, direction and all that stuff are superb. Which pretty much makes this the best film that should never have been made. So don’t go see it. You’ll love it…and you really really shouldn’t.

Review – Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

November is well into its stride and with it we have the latest instalment in the second Wizarding World series arc. The first and best known – the Rise and (spoiler alert) Fall of Voldemort through the 8 Harry Potter films – gave way in 2016 to the Rise and (spoiler alert) Fall of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts series. With 5 movies planned, and little source material to reference, fans are truly in the dark as to what will transpire over the course of the 5 movie series.

The first movie, for those who haven’t seen it or struggle to recall two years past, introduced us to Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) – fabled author of the Magical Creatures text book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that lends its name to the title of the movie. A shy, magizoologist, Newt led us on a jolly jape through New York City where creatures escaped and were recaptured, friendships were formed – Queenie (Alison Sudol), Tina (Katherine Waterston) and Jacob (Dan Fogler) chief amongst them – and Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) made his debut late in the final reel.

In Newt’s second outing, taking place a few months later, Grindelwald has escaped captivity and Newt is banned from travelling due to his New York exploits. His brother Theseus (Callum Turner), with whom he has a complicated relationship, is working for the Ministry of Magic. Theseus offers Newt a job that would let him get round the ban. But Newt is not one for office work and so declines.

Cue Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) – Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts – who informs Newt that Grindelwald has surfaced in Paris and that Newt must go and stop his evil schemes. Here’s a trailer:

The second film in a 5-film arc is always going to be difficult. The need to keep things fresh and interesting whilst continuing to setup the necessary aspects of the universe can lead some to accusations of ‘filler’ or ‘confusing’. Make no mistake – this film is neither of those.

The plot is easy to follow – we’re trying to find Grindelwald in Paris whilst dealing with personal issues caused by nonsense laws, communication breakdown and personality clashes. The new characters, and creatures, are introduced in a way that makes them instantly understandable – Jude Law’s Dumbledore has hints of the majesty that awaits him but is still firmly young both in body and mind. In flashback we see a little of Newt’s schooling and fill in a little of his backstory, principally concerning his friendship with Lita Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz).

There’s japes, pain and creatures being cute and/or scary – sometimes both simultaneously – in fact it has everything you need. The jokes, as always, land well without being offensively telegraphed or intrusive. All in all this is a great, fun film, and a worthy entry into the Wizarding World. I enjoyed it greatly and, if you’re a fan, so will you.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hits cinemas on Friday 16th November. I’m guessing it’ll be around for a while.

Review – Bohemian Rhapsody

It was at Live Aid in 1985 that Freddie Mercury cemented his place amongst the legends of modern music. No surprise, then, that this incredible, seminal Queen performance provides the book-end for this Freddie Mercury biopic.

The film opens with a knock on the door of an airstream, from which the band emerge. Freddie energetically makes his way to the stage before being introduced before a worldwide audience of hundreds of millions.

We then cut back to the 1960s where young Farrokh Bulsara is working as a baggage handler at Heathrow and, in perhaps the film’s most bizarre scene, he is racially abused and replies by saying ‘I’m not from Pakistan’.

From there the film moves swiftly from his meeting with Roger Taylor and Brian May and his joining the band that became Queen, through the writing and recording of various songs and albums, all the way back to the full Live Aid performance (though missing We Will Rock You, for some reason) which closes the film. Here’s a trailer:

First things first, this is not a warts and all portrayal of Freddie’s life. Whilst his excess, his debauchery and his unpleasantnesses are present, they’re couched in a way that preserves his legacy in the minds of the viewer. This is exactly the film that Sascha Baron-Cohen didn’t want to make and exactly the film that Queen did.

That said, we do get an excellent portrayal of his life, his sensibilities and his vulnerabilities. Accusations of straight-washing don’t hold, as his sexuality is never denied. Yes, he spends a lot of time with Mary but then…he did. We also see knowing hints of the debauchery of his parties; ‘white powder on the coffee table’ substitutes for actually seeing cocaine being snorted.

The only real downpoints, apart from the Heathrow scene, are, firstly,  the performance of Mike Myers in what is the weakest scene of the entire film. Mike Myers can’t do the subtle comedy required here, so you end up with an incongruous caricature of a record executive, whose soul purpose seems to be to shoehorn in a reference to Wayne’s World. Secondly, a LOT of artistic licence is taken with the timeline. Clearly we don’t have time to see the detail of each of the 11 studio albums that Queen recorded over the timespan depicted but if you want an accurate account of what happened and when you’re better off reading Wikipedia.

But that doesn’t detract from what is, all in all, a VERY good film. It’s exactly the grandiose spectacle you would expect a film about Freddie to be. The actors nail their roles better than you might think possible and, as always, Tom Hollander is a delight, portraying their lawyer-cum-manager Jim Beach. And at the end, the recreation of Live Aid is nothing short of incredible. If you want to be guided on a journey through the life of Freddie Mercury that’s fairly gentle without being superficial then this is the film for you. If you want a tawdry look deep into the more salacious aspects then you’ll have to go elsewhere.

I enjoyed this film even more than I expected too and I walked out feeling significantly more fabulous than I had when I walked in!

Review – A Star is Born (2018)

If you’ve been to the cinema in the past month then you’re probably aware that there’s a new version of one of Hollywood’s favourite stories around. It’s due to hit screens this week and it’s already being tipped for Oscar success.

In this latest version of the story, Ally (Lady Gaga) is a young ingenue – a talented singer wasting her life waiting tables because so many people have told her she just doesn’t have the looks to make it big. Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) is a stadium rocker from Arizona who can still fill the big venues but who’s coasting along the route of decline from his past successes.

After a concert one night, having finished off the bottle that was in his limo, he finds a bar and, like all good alcoholics, couldn’t give two shits about it being a drag bar as long as it serves him what he needs. On stage he sees Ally – the only woman allowed to sing there – giving an incredible performance of La Vie en Rose. Instantly smitten, he finds his way backstage and invites her to continue the evening with him.

From there we see the journey that sees their relative stars swap places as Ally’s amazing talent is honed by a skeezy Simon Cowell-esque record producer and Jack’s alcoholism, coupled with his failing hearing and mental health issues, sees his career slide ever downwards.

Here’s a trailer:

Firstly, there’s no getting away from the fact that this is an incredibly good film. Bradley Cooper, making his directorial debut, has created something better than most directors manage after decades in the profession. Likewise, Lady Gaga’s performance is that of an actress rather than that of a musician playing at acting (I’m looking at you, Madonna). It may not be much of a stretch for Gaga to play an unconventionally beautiful singer with a fantastic voice who makes it big – she’s been doing that for years – but she knocks this out of the park so well that it’s hard to believe this is her debut in a leading role.

Cooper, too, is surprisingly good at playing a washed-up rocker to the extent that it’s easy to see how he could transition to music if the film stuff doesn’t work out – though on this showing that won’t be necessary.

The second thing that must be said is that this is SO much better than the 1976 Streisand version. Partly down to the fact that this has been directed and produced as a film rather than a vehicle for a single star to orbit. Gaga is part of the film, not – as Streisand was – the raison d’etre of the whole thing.

Thirdly, the songs are tremendous. If you can come out of the film and not find yourself humming Shallow then you’re a better person than I am. They all work as a part of the story, the lyrics decidedly being a player in their own right.

This is not a perfect film. You’ll find that out as the thinkpieces come in wherein people take scenes in isolation to demonstrate that the attitude to women is terrible (it’s not – but it’s not amazing either) and the reviews point out all the inconsistencies of the characterisations (Ally absolutely won’t stand by Jack if he’s drinking – until she does) though most of this is carping. You can find flaws and make them into hills to die on in every film ever made.

What this film is, however, is more than worth the time it takes to watch it and more than worth the inevitable Oscar talk that will be surrounding it between now and February. And really, what more can you ask?

Weekly Roundup – June 4-10 2018

Cinemas this week are all about the CGI, with the only notable widely available release being Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Chris Pratt will return to Isla Nublar to rescue some of the dinosaurs, with peril, humour and the death of some shady characters likely to follow. It’ll be there from Wednesday, with midnight showings for the particularly keen amongst you.

Further afield you might manage to find a screening of McQueen, a documentary about Alexander McQueen’s life, upending of the snobbish fashion industry and ultimately his untimely death.

Netflix has a treat for CGI fans too, with the excellent Thor: Ragnarok streaming into our devices from Wednesday. From Friday you can also catch Netflix Original Alex Strangelove – a teenage coming-of-age-and-questioning-sexuality tale – and Ali’s Wedding, an Australian film about arranged marriage in which a young man ends up being railroaded into an arranged marriage despite being in love with someone else.

Amazon are still making it hard to find out what’s coming, film-wise, but as of today we can now watch the classic schlock-horror titles Giant from the Unknown, The Killer Shrews and She Demons as well as Paranormal Asylum, a ‘based on true events’ horror film about Typhoid Mary and romantic-comedy When She Showed Up.

Finally, for your purchasing delight in shiny-disc format we have the rather excellent Darkest Hour, in which Gary Oldman proves once again that whenever Brian Cox takes on a role, someone else will soon win an Oscar for the same role. Next up is The 15:17 to Paris, a rather unremarkable attempt by Clint Eastwood to spin 5 minutes of drama into a full-length film starring the people who were actually in a terrorist attack. Another one on the ‘if you really must’ list is Den of Thieves, with Gerard Butler playing a maverick cop on the tail of a gang who are trying to steal money. There’s also Journey’s End and Black Butterfly, neither of which have I seen but both of which I would watch if I had the opportunity.

So there you have it. Another week in cinema – what are you most looking forward to?

Weekly Roundup – May 28 – June 3 2018

Coming to the big screen this week we have ‘old people do the funniest things’ comedy Book Club in which a group of older women give 50 Shades of Grey a go…with hilarious results. If you’re looking for something foreign then feel free to track down Amant Double – Double Lover – a French film where a woman moves in with her psychoanalyst only to find out he’s not quite what he seems. Also on the ‘probably not coming to a cinema near you’ list is The Bromley Boys starring Martine McCutcheon and Alan Davies, inter alia, in a feel-good film about growing up supporting a rubbish football team.

Finally this week, taking a 180 degree turn towards the macabre, we have the conceptually-troubling My Friend Dahmer, a rendering of the graphic novel of the same name, which shows serial-killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s highschool years in what I assume is an attempt at some sort of redemption. I’m looking forward to seeing it despite the fact that the subject matter makes me uncomfortable.

Netflix this week is offering up a veritable feast for us. A lot of content, and some of it is even worth watching! Starting with Rom-com Maggie’s Plan with Greta Gerwig and Ethan Hawke, we proceed swiftly to Wish Upon, Mirrormask, Galaxy of Terror, Species II, Short Circuit 2, The Island of Dr Moreau, Two Weeks, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex* But Were Afraid To Ask, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, Outside In, The Mansion, The Edge of Seventeen.

If you’re a fan of Martial Arts movies then you’ll be delighted to hear that Netflix is dropping several titles this week. From Friday look out for Five Element Ninjas, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Five Deadly Venoms, Return to the 36th Chamber, Mahjong Heroes, On The Wrong Track, Legendary Weapons of China and My Schoolmate the Barbarian.

Pick of the week for me is Beach Rats, a gay drama set in Brooklyn starring the outstanding young British actor Harris Dickinson as a closeted teenager who experiments with drugs and hooks up with older men online. I missed this when it had its very limited cinematic release and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since.

Amazon Prime seem to have stopped making it easy to find out what’s coming. Either that or they’re just not adding any new movies for free streaming (unlikely) so yeah…I got nothing.

Coming to shiny-disc this week, we have Maze Runner: The Death Cure – the final instalment in the Maze Runner series that started what feels like a hundred years ago, Downsizing, in which Matt Damon fails to save the world, 12 Strong, a decent and mostly overlooked film set in the early days of the Afghanistan invasion, Winchester, which may be the worst film Helen Mirren has ever made, and Early Man, which is the weakest of Aardman’s long-form output by far.

 

Quick Review – The Gnome Duology

With Sherlock Gnomes in cinemas now and Gnomeo and Juliet, its predecessor, available on Amazon Prime Video, I’m going to review them both quickly in a single post.

Gnomeo and Juliet is a star-crossed lovers tale amongst garden gnomes from two neighbouring gardens. Sherlock Gnomes is a mystery caper where the titular hero has to track down the person who is stealing gnomes from across London before they end up being smashed. Yeah, really.

Don’t watch either of these films. They’re not bad, they just…happen. With little to recommend about either of them, they look fine in trailer form but they just can’t cut the mustard as deserving of 80-odd minutes of your time apiece.

Seriously, there are SO many better animated films around – like Coco which came out on disc this week – that you should never need to waste your time or money on third-rate nonsense like this.

Weekly Roundup – 21-27 May 2018

If you’re not into Star Wars then this week looks a little bit depressing, at least on the big screen. Thursday sees the debut of the long-awaited and much-troubled Han Solo origins movie – Solo: A Star Wars Story. Friday brings canine capers with Show Dogs and there’s animated adventure with The Breadwinner and Argentinian action with Zama if you can find anywhere that’s screening them.

Netflix this week brings us Northern Irish prison drama Maze on Tuesday, Killers, TMNT 2 and documentary Survivor’s Guide to Prison on Thursday and Mindhunters, Reign over Me and Ibiza on Friday. Saturday gives us The Darkness and Sara’s Notebook whilst Sunday has the fairly dreadful Hugh Jackman film Pan.

Amazon Prime has, once again, nothing new coming out this week.

DVDs and Blu-Rays, on the other hand, can be purchased for utterly fantastic films Coco, The Post and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. There’s also the rather average The Commuter – Liam Neeson does Taken but on a train and Insidious: The Last Key – fine if you like the Insidious films, I guess.

And there you have it. Happy watching, folks.

Weekly Roundup – May 7-13 2018

On the big screen this week, Thursday sees Melissa McCarthy’s ‘Mom goes back to college’ laugh-a-thon Life Of The Party unleashed onto audiences whilst Friday has a veritable trove coming our way.

Firstly, Sherlock Gnomes, which had a pre-release last weekend in some cinemas for the bank holiday, is on full release. Then we have Clive Owen detectiving in Anon and Elle Fanning teaching boys How to Talk to Girls at Parties which, I must admit, is not something I’ve ever needed to know.

In action/thriller news we get to see a woman kill some men in Revenge and a woman kill some men in Breaking In. I’m going to guess they deserved it. Horror fans get The Cured, in which cured zombies get treated badly by society and in foreign affairs, French comedy Redoubtable (La Redoutable or Godard Mon Amour are also things that it seems to be called) looks half-decent.

Finally for the big screen, we finally get to see Entebbe. After many many months of seeing the trailer, with Daniel Brühl looking all Danie Brühlish – always a good thing – and the always good Eddie Marsan as Shimon Peres, it’s sure to be interesting for fans of hijackings, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and Daniel Brühl.

Moving onto the smaller screen and for your purchasing delight this week we have The Ballad of Lefty Brown, in which Bill Pullman pursues justice in the Wild West and Acts of Vengeance in which Antonio Banderas pursues justice, rather violently, in somewhere more modern. Lovely.

Netflix this week is slightly poor, with Daddy Day Care, Bad Neighbours 2 and Jeepers Creepers 3 all making their debut. It picks up a bit with Taxi Driver and The Intern but then London, The Kissing Booth and some terrible looking thing called Spivak also come along for the ride. I’ll watch it so you don’t have to.

Amazon Prime doesn’t fare much better with a single solitary As Good As It Gets? being released. Jack Nicholson fans rejoice – oh wait no. It’s a film about Leeds Rhinos.

And that’s your lot for this week. What are you most looking forward to seeing this week? Let me know in the comments below.

Weekly Roundup – April 16-22 2018

Weekly. Hmmm. Okay, so I missed a few weeks. I’ll try not to do that in future. Anyway, without further ado, here’s the week’s highlights.

Opening this Friday in cinemas we have creepy horror film Wildling starring Liv Tyler, Mike Newell’s intriguingly titled Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, teen movie Every Day about a girl who wakes up in a different body every day, The Leisure Seeker with Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren and Claire Denis’ Let The Sunshine In (French title: Un Beau Soleil Intérieur) starring the magnificent Juliette Binoche. No blockbusters but all of them look like they’re worth seeing to me.

For your home-purchasing disc-delights we have animated bull-romp Ferdinand, mostly forgettable but enjoyable nonetheless, and a horror film I missed from December called Better Watch Out that looks like it could be amazing, or just very very silly!

Netflix this week is bringing us Alice Through The Looking Glass, the excellent Money Monster with George Clooney, comedy drama Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Chasing the Dragon and the Brazilian film All the Reasons to Forget (Brazilian Title Todas As Razões Para Esquecer) all streaming from Wednesday. Friday then brings the dreadful Lake Placid, the even worse FearDotCom, the potentially-interesting original Dude and Mercury 13, a documentary about female astronauts.

If all of that is not enough for you’re out of luck because Amazon Prime appears to be bringing nothing to the table this week at all!

So there you have it. Happy watching 🙂