Mystify: Michael Hutchence

And last week's Friday night movie has been....Mystify: Michael Hutchence!

Original image located here. Accessed 26th July 2019

So this has been doing the rounds lately: a biographical documentary on former INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, made up of (mostly) home video footage and spoken accounts from the people how knew him.

Being a child of the eighties and an Australian, I was in the right place and the right time to bear witness to INXS achieving their superstardom. Thing is, I never got into INXS. Sure their songs were a constant presence on the radio, sure Hutchence's face was everywhere but I however, was more into the likes of Hoodoo Gurus, Midnight Oil and Icehouse. I had no idea of the headway INXS were making overseas and, as far as I was concerned, their music wasn't for me - but I will admit to a fondness for Beautiful Girl which, as bizarre as it may sound, I will forever associate with my Primary School leavers dinner XD
In recent years though, my indifference has been challenged and I'm finding something to like in INXS' music. So maybe there is something to be gleamed from this documentary?

Apparently so: Clearly this documentary is going out of it's way to humanise Michael and show him as he really was. I was interested to see how Michael was described as someone who functioned best when he was within a familial unit. I was intrigued to hear about his relationship with Kylie Minogue - particularly when Kylie's accounts are delivered with boundless enthusiasm. And even when we all know how the story ends, the tragic of it is still a kick to the teeth.
So in the end, if this documentary was aimed at humanising Michael and show him who he really was, this succeeded with flying colours.

Adam

And this week's Friday night movie has been....Adam!

Original image located here. Accessed 19th July 2019

As regular readers of this series would know, I will show favoritism for movies that feature characters that have Aspergers Syndrome. And this is one such case: A romance that shows a guy in New York, with Aspergers, meeting and falling in love with his neighbour.

It's not a bad movie. Its not the best movie I've seen but the portrayal of an Apsergerian is sincere and it's heart is in the right place. There are some moments that may be somewhat hard to swallow but in the end, the movie is indeed taking the romance seriously and the leads (Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne) certainly give it their all.
Not a bad effort at all

Spiderman: Far From Home

And this week's Friday night movie has been....Spiderman Far From Home!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th July 2019

It must be a challenge to make a Spiderman movie. Because, in my mind, there are two things that make it so: a) Meeting the standard set by the Sam Raimi Spiderman movies (well maybe not 3) and b) once you get past that you still need to face the fact that the greatest Spiderman movie has been made in the form of Into the Spiderverse. So what can Far From Home do besides picking up the gauntlet?

To me what made Homecoming and the aforementioned Spiderverse succeed was that they didn't try to replicate the the Sam Raimi Spiderman movies favoring instead to do their own thing. And Homecoming confirms the wise-ness of that decision. Yep, this movie makes up yet another winner in the MCU stable.
Much has been said about how this is the first post-Endgame movie in the MCU and how the effects of it are being felt in-universe but for me the real treat is how this movie is steadfast in doing it's own thing with Spiderman and is doing things differently. It's great to see familiar situations discarded in favor of going in a different direction (personally you can only see Peter Parker whinge about his girl troubles and his absurd lengths to protect his identity before it gets reeaaaalllllllllll tiresome). And Mysterio is made into a character that can work.
All in all a superb movie and it would be interesting to see what happens next with this incarnation of Spidey (especially considering the mid and post credit sequences).

Toy Story 4

And this week's Friday night movie has been....Toy Story 4!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th July 2019

And thus the curtain falls on an odyssey twenty four years in the making - or at least I hope it's the ending because I can't see where Pixar can go from here.

There's not really a lot I can say about this: It's Pixar. It's Toy Story. It has the same laughs, heart and pathos we have come to expect from this series. Gabby Gabby is a fascinating character and we see some familiar faces develop in some interesting ways.
So really, not only does this movie has a good case for existing but it can certainly sit comfortably alongside it's older siblings.

One last thing: Duke is indeed a delight and was well-received by the audience when i saw this in the theater - but I have to wonder how many people, besides me, have made the connection to Ken Carter