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Films round-up
Jul. 17th, 2018 10:10 pmI haven't been to the cinema as much of late. Partly because I've been busy, but also because the amount of choice at Cineworld gets worse and worse. There have been some films I've wanted to see that don't seem to have made it to Sheffield at all, not even to the Showroom. Still, there have been a few things I've seen over the past couple of months, and most of them have been worthwhile:
Mary and the Witch's Flower - It's not strictly a Ghibli film, but it might as well be. A beautiful old-school animation that feels like a cross between Harry Potter and Spirited Away. Mary moves to the countryside, where she discovers an old broomstick and a mysterious flower in the woods, which take her off to a school of magic. But there are sinister goings-on at the school, and soon she has to try to rescue her friend, Peter. I saw the subtitled version, so I can't vouch for the English dub, but Ghibli have a good record on this front. The story isn't hugely original, but it's full of charm and (as you'd expect) visually it's enchanting to look at. Plus cats.
Deadpool 2 - Deadpool basically has two tricks - being outrageous and lampshading tropes. Both of those can be funny, and if you liked the original, there's more of the same here. This time Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is facing off agajnst the time-travelling Cable (Josh Brolin, in his second Marvel villain role within a month). It has its moments, mainly when it manages to pull off completely unexpected gags, but they're sparse. Personally I'm a bit "meh" about the whole thing. They've sort of promised there won't be a third; I probably won't bother if there is.
Solo: A Star Wars Story - I saw this with a large group as part of my birthday celebrations, and our overall consensus was, "It was fine." That's not to be negative - It ticks all the boxes; it's a fun heist movie; and Alden Ehrenreich is believably a younger Han Solo. There's an impressive supporting cast, including Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Childish Gambino and Paul Bettany. It's just that something about it didn't quite feel like Star Wars. I don't know whether it was the gangster tone, the way everything was drab and cloudy, or something else. The sequel-friendly ending was also rather unsatisfying. The whole Kessel caper was a joy from start to finish though, and I loved L3, who was very much this film's K2-SO. Overall, it was no Rogue One though.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Owen (Chris Pratt), Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Blue (Blue) are back for more dino action, with Jeff Goldblum filling in the "token original character" cameo. It's definitely a film of two halves: The first half of the film, on the island, with our heroes dodging dinos and molten lava, is garbage. The second half is... well... also garbage, but it is gloriously entertaining Hammer Horror garbage. Set in a gothic mansion and featuring a rooftop chase in a thunderstorm, a secret lab in the basement, dastardly villains, lots of creeping around in the dark, and more than a few "homages", it's a guilty pleasure.
Incredibles 2 - Another superhero movie that's more of the same, but when "the same" is a follow-up to possibility Pixar's best film, who's complaining? Picking up immediately where the first film left off (the Underminer!), our family of supers are still living in hiding from a world that sees superheroes as a public menace, until one of them gets an offer which seems too good to be true. This time it's Helen/Elastigirl, with Bob/Mr. Incredible being a stay-at-home dad. A lesser comedy would have massively played up the gender role-reversal angle, and had one or both parents fail miserably. This is much better. Both parents get some things right and some wrong. Both struggle to balance "work" and family. They disagree on some pretty fundamental things, but their relationship is still strong. All the original cast are back (Yes, including Edna!), along with new supers, and the set-pieces are still fast-paced and inventive. Special mention for Jack-Jack, for being a scene-stealing force of nature, whenever he appears!
The Secret of Marrowbone - I'm a sucker for Spanish horror, so this (English language) haunted house tale directed by Sergio G Sanchez drew me in. Jack (George MacKay) and his siblings flee to their mother's old family home to escape their violent father. But soon tragedy strikes and they must hide a secret. Youngest brother, Sam is terrified of a ghost in the house. All the mirrors remain hidden, and there's "blood money" in the grounds. Neighbour Allie (Anya Taylor-Joy) and lawyer Tom (Kyle Soller) become involved. The film uses all the haunted house tropes, and uses them well. And, like all good ghost stories, things aren't quite what they first appear to be...
Mary and the Witch's Flower - It's not strictly a Ghibli film, but it might as well be. A beautiful old-school animation that feels like a cross between Harry Potter and Spirited Away. Mary moves to the countryside, where she discovers an old broomstick and a mysterious flower in the woods, which take her off to a school of magic. But there are sinister goings-on at the school, and soon she has to try to rescue her friend, Peter. I saw the subtitled version, so I can't vouch for the English dub, but Ghibli have a good record on this front. The story isn't hugely original, but it's full of charm and (as you'd expect) visually it's enchanting to look at. Plus cats.
Deadpool 2 - Deadpool basically has two tricks - being outrageous and lampshading tropes. Both of those can be funny, and if you liked the original, there's more of the same here. This time Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is facing off agajnst the time-travelling Cable (Josh Brolin, in his second Marvel villain role within a month). It has its moments, mainly when it manages to pull off completely unexpected gags, but they're sparse. Personally I'm a bit "meh" about the whole thing. They've sort of promised there won't be a third; I probably won't bother if there is.
Solo: A Star Wars Story - I saw this with a large group as part of my birthday celebrations, and our overall consensus was, "It was fine." That's not to be negative - It ticks all the boxes; it's a fun heist movie; and Alden Ehrenreich is believably a younger Han Solo. There's an impressive supporting cast, including Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Childish Gambino and Paul Bettany. It's just that something about it didn't quite feel like Star Wars. I don't know whether it was the gangster tone, the way everything was drab and cloudy, or something else. The sequel-friendly ending was also rather unsatisfying. The whole Kessel caper was a joy from start to finish though, and I loved L3, who was very much this film's K2-SO. Overall, it was no Rogue One though.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Owen (Chris Pratt), Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Blue (Blue) are back for more dino action, with Jeff Goldblum filling in the "token original character" cameo. It's definitely a film of two halves: The first half of the film, on the island, with our heroes dodging dinos and molten lava, is garbage. The second half is... well... also garbage, but it is gloriously entertaining Hammer Horror garbage. Set in a gothic mansion and featuring a rooftop chase in a thunderstorm, a secret lab in the basement, dastardly villains, lots of creeping around in the dark, and more than a few "homages", it's a guilty pleasure.
Incredibles 2 - Another superhero movie that's more of the same, but when "the same" is a follow-up to possibility Pixar's best film, who's complaining? Picking up immediately where the first film left off (the Underminer!), our family of supers are still living in hiding from a world that sees superheroes as a public menace, until one of them gets an offer which seems too good to be true. This time it's Helen/Elastigirl, with Bob/Mr. Incredible being a stay-at-home dad. A lesser comedy would have massively played up the gender role-reversal angle, and had one or both parents fail miserably. This is much better. Both parents get some things right and some wrong. Both struggle to balance "work" and family. They disagree on some pretty fundamental things, but their relationship is still strong. All the original cast are back (Yes, including Edna!), along with new supers, and the set-pieces are still fast-paced and inventive. Special mention for Jack-Jack, for being a scene-stealing force of nature, whenever he appears!
The Secret of Marrowbone - I'm a sucker for Spanish horror, so this (English language) haunted house tale directed by Sergio G Sanchez drew me in. Jack (George MacKay) and his siblings flee to their mother's old family home to escape their violent father. But soon tragedy strikes and they must hide a secret. Youngest brother, Sam is terrified of a ghost in the house. All the mirrors remain hidden, and there's "blood money" in the grounds. Neighbour Allie (Anya Taylor-Joy) and lawyer Tom (Kyle Soller) become involved. The film uses all the haunted house tropes, and uses them well. And, like all good ghost stories, things aren't quite what they first appear to be...
