Amy

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

Original image located here. Accessed 27th September 2019

Yep, it's the documentary based on the life of one Amy Winehouse.
At the time, when her career was in full flight, I didn't pay a lot of attention to Amy. I heard little of her music but I DID hear a lot about her daily escapades with drug & alcohol abuse and constantly making a fool of herself in public. Indeed, it's not a good sign when you find yourself asking 'Wait, she's a singer?'.
However, most of my knowledge about Amy Winehouse has been informed through reading the book Cradle to the Stage (by Virginia Hanson-Grohl). And the section dedicated to Amy, as recounted by her mother Janis, paints a picture of the eternal rebel, fiercely resisting advice, warnings, common-sense and any form of order and structure. And suddenly Amy's famous declaration of "They tried to make me to go rehab / I said: No No No" seems less defiant and more petulant.
So can this documentary present some new information?

Much like Mystify: Michael Hutchence, this is a documentary built out of (mostly) home video footage and the accounts of the people who knew the subject. It does indeed show Amy at her best, a singer and a writer, and at her worst. It doesn't shy away from the rebel image (as described above) and it is saddening to hear the attempts from various people trying to stop Amy from her self-destructive tendencies only to fail.
Indeed, it is depressing see Amy go from a young, pretty and charismatic performer into a mess. Going into the documentary, we all know how the story ends but that doesn't make the journey any less harrowing.
Still it is impressive to see the amount of material the makers of this documentary had to work with. A stand out for me was the footage of her in a studio working alongside her hero Tony Bennett. And a story from a friend who bursts into tears as she tells it.
So in the end, like any good documentary, this is raw, honest and leaves a sizable impression

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

And this week's Friday night movie has been...Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood!

Original image located here. Accessed 20th September 2019

During my teen years I really did not like Brad Pitt and Leonardo Di Caprio as they, to me, represented this 'pretty boy' image that i had no hope in hell of matching. Who would've guessed that they would end up starring in a movie together? And not only that, but prove to be such a formidable duo?

Stars aside, this is advertised as a Quentin Tarantino movie and, as such, has some of what we've come to expect from a Tarantino movie: References for the movie geeks, a passion for film history and veteran cast members being handed unique roles. It also has the ultra-violence and the cussing but that isn't the point....

So what this is is Tarantino recreating Hollywood in the sixties. The recreations are fun, the attention to detail is superb and the familiar faces are interesting to spot. As mentioned above, Leonardo and Brad make a great partnership but for me the real star is Margot Robbie - she never disappoints and her role as Sharon Tate is interesting as Margot does so much with so little.
All in all, it's another gem from Tarantino which, considered his extensive oeuvre, is saying something.
Who would've guessed that hippies would be so dangerous?

Office Space

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

Original image located here. Accessed 13th September 2019

Some of my buds have been urging me to see this, citing it's hilarity and situations I may find familiar. Personally, i had no idea that this movie existed but I'll try anything once.

And as it so happens it was funny. I can't say some of the situations in this movie has happened during my job (thankfully) but there is indeed some relatable elements in them and there were some decent laughs to be had.
Oh and when my home printer eventually gives up the ghost i am definitely giving it a send off reminiscent of the one portrayed in this movie

The English Patient

And this week's Friday night movie has been....The English Patient!

Original image located here. Accessed 6th September 2019

This movie was a major hit in the nineties but, as someone who lived through that decade, I don't recall it being a big deal. Maybe I, at the time, had my concerns directed elsewhere but I only became aware that this was a big deal when it swept the board at the Academy Awards.

As it turns out, it's not a bad film. Much has been said about it's cast but for me, the true star is the photography. The location shooting is nothing less than astonishing and is truly a sight to behold. It looks real, like you, the viewer, are there, in that environment. Equally impressive are the scenes involving examining painting on a cave wall and seeing frescoes by the light of a flare.
Personally i didn't care much for the love story but the visuals are what make this film. And that is more than enough.

The Abyss

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

Original image located here. Accessed 30th August 2019

Apparently director James Cameron is real keen on underwater exploration....
Okay, seriously: I've been wanting to see this movie ever since 1989 (!) when I first saw the advertising poster and thought it is ominous enough to grab my interest. An interest, it would seem, has not waned over the course of three decades...

I do enjoy James Cameron movies and this one didn't disappoint. There's the action and special effects I have come to expect from him but what marks this movie as special is the build up. There's tension, some brilliant photography, and an atmosphere that will make more modern movies green with envy. And the movie has indeed aged well when compared to other movies of the era.

Not much else i can say is that who would've guessed thirty years would be worth the wait?
(of course I've had longer waits to see certain movies but still...)

Her

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

Original image located here. Accessed 23rd August 2019

Hasn't this been a major hit: A movie about a guy who falls in love with an AI? Personally, I approached this movie with caution: I've seen a lot of anime which plays off a similar scenario (ordinary guy falls in love with anything-but-ordinary girlfriend in a story that is out to pander to an audience of guys who struggle with the world outside their bedroom) so can this movie do more than rehash an oft-played scenario?

Apparently it can. This is indeed an odd movie - but I suppose that is par for the course with Spike Jonze. It certainly has some things to say about getting over a breakup and moving on - but the way it is going about it is indeed something else. It's funny at times and emotionally intense other times. It is clever, challenging and not afraid to go for the jugular with it's emotional punches. And the two leads are great with Joaquin Phoenix carrying the movie and Scarlett Johansson giving the performance of her career (impressive when she is only present in voice).
Is it like the anime I mentioned in the previous paragraph? Maybe, but it is interesting to see a familiar trope being taken in a different direction.

It's a very good movie yet I can't help but think that it's just as well that the movie got made when it did (2013). because in a post-MeToo/Elliot-Rodger world one would think that a socially-maladjusted, emotionally-crippled, confidence-challenged protagonist would be one heading down the path of a villain.

Tombstone

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

Original image located here. Accessed 16th August 2019

Oh boy have I been wanting to see this for a long time. I enjoy westerns and this one has the promise of some of the snappiest dressed gunmen in any western. That and a sizable number of big names in the cast.

It's not a bad western. Oh sure it may be somewhat overlong, sure it may be meandering and sure some of the characters just come and go but I was impressed by the production values, the action sequences ("NO!!") and how both Val KIlmer and Kurt Russell make their mark - and how everyone else still manage to hold their own. It may not be historically accurate but it still has a lot of fun. There's some great lines herein too.
So in the end, it's not bad western and worthy entrant into the genre.

The Accountant

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

Original image located here. Accessed 9th August 2019

Once again I pick up with a movie built around a character who is on the Autism spectrum. What makes this different though is this time, instead of a rom-com as per previously, we have an action movie.

Obviously this movie is giving an action movie hero that autistic kids can look up to and to that end the film is admirable - a socially awkward, mathematically gifted guy who can punch and shoot goons without flinching and has enough resources to make James Bond worried? Has potential. Furthermore, Ben Affleck is certainly giving a committed performance and the action sequences are well done. But there are moments in the plot that seem incoherent and baffling to the point of frustrating.
Still, as indicated above, this movie has it's heart in the right place so I'll give it that much.

The Searchers

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

Original image located here. Accessed 2nd August 2019

Once again I find myself facing down one of the titans: One of the oft-mentioned, undisputed classics, frequented-referenced-in-best-of-list of cinema. It's an intimidating prospect indeed but am i up to the task?

Well much has been written of Ethan, John Wayne's character, and how much he is, in fact, a racist. I won't deny that but I personally think that if the movie made me involved in the character's arc then it must've done something right. Having said that, what makes this movie compelling is that it's looking through the genre of the western through a grey lens. There are no black hats/white hats that are so common in the genre and honestly? The movie is all the better for it.

Ultimately however the real star of the movie is the setting. It may be shot in Utah Arizona but it never ceases to astonish. It's colossal, staggering and mind-slowing in it's bareness. There's no green-screen whatsoever and leaves a lot of modern movies for dead.

So yes facing this movie was indeed an intimidating prospect but it still holds up, even with the distance of sixty years (that final shot being a particular stand out). So in the end, this movie has a well-earned reputation.
Truly epic in every sense of the word.

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