The Hateful Eight

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

Original image located here. Accessed 25th September 2020

I have seen a Magnificent Seven, a Ruthless Four and now we arrive at a movie that I've been wanting to see for quite some time. And I finally got the opportunity to do so (thanks Nick!).

No way around it: This a Tarantino film and it is therefore expected to see what he can do with the lessons he had picked up through watching countless movies. In a way, considering his affinity with gun battles, disjointed narratives and limited locations, it is unsurprising that he should again try his hand at a western.
Now I do enjoy a good western and I can see some familiar tropes being put to use: The use of scenery, the bounty hunter tracking down criminals, the presence of a stagecoach, the abrupt nature of people getting gunned down, lot's of blood and the presence of the late great Ennio Morricone. But these tropes are placed through the lens of a Tarantino picture: Thus we have some fascinating characters, a truly weather beaten look, some gripping suspense and a lot of black humor.
It may be difficult to determine Tarantino's best work but this is well and truly up there

Bill and Ted Face the Music

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Bill and Ted Face the Music!

Original image located here. Accessed 18th September 2020

Of all the late eighties/early nineties franchises to resurrect, I didn't think anyone would touch this one, let alone it being any good.

Once again, the titular characters make the movie - after they're all there in the title. It's amazing how Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves can step back into this roles, after nearly three decades, and bring these characters to life. They may be older and but by no means wiser and they're still funny to watch. One might think that it would be embarrassing to see some middle aged dudes still acting like teenagers but here it just adds to the hilarity.
But even though this is Bill and Ted's movie, it's their daughters, Billi and Thea, who end up stealing the show. Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving have the mannerisms of their onscreen fathers down pat that they are a delight to watch
It would be baffling to think of such committed actors in what is, a lowbrow stoner comedy but here it works. Throw in a message of bringing the world together through music, one surprisingly touching scene and a theme of second chances (which i will admit to being a sucker for) and we have a movie that is better than it has any right to be. It could've attempted to do a flat out (and lazy) reprise of Excellent Adventure but, much like Bogus Journey, it refused to do so and came out all the better for it.
You could say it was....Excellent!

A Clockwork Orange

And this week's Friday night movie has been... A Clockwork Orange!

Original image located here. Accessed 9th September 2020

This may surprise a number of you readers but I have never seen this movie. Sure I have seen parts of it but I have never seen it all the way through - and not doing so seems dishonest to this serial and myself as a cinema geek. Ironic that this particular movie has a reputation as being one of the most difficult to get through.
Furthermore, this is another case of a movie being so well known that it's reputation precedes it (seems it's something of a touchstone for both film snobs and the anti-sociable). And I have always been suspicious of such proprieties: How can you judge a work on your own terms when it has a weight of a reputation so large that it can't hope to live up to such expectations? (Yes Firefly, I am looking at you).
Finally, there is the issue of shock tactics. For me, the greatest enemy of shock tactics isn't the straight-laced complainers who protest them -- No, it's the march of time. Because the march of time brings copycats who will either replicate the same approach (to some extent) or try to surpass the original to the point where the original looks toothless.
With such factors in mind (whether we like it or not), how do we assess A Clockwork Orange?

In all honesty, i have seen worse.
It may be a bold claim but i this lifetime, I have seen countless movies, a lot of anime, many a music video on rage and a whole lotta weird stuff on SBS.
So yeah, I've see things.

But given the passage of time, I have to admit that there is still some bite in this movie. The art design is extraordinary, the vision of the future is both bleak and plausible, the satire hits with precision and the movie still looks relevant nearly half a century later.
It may be easy to slam Stanley Kubrick for being self-indulgent (seriously how much phallic imagery can you cram into one movie?) but it certainly stands head and shoulders above it's followers. Amusing one moment and downright disturbing the next, this isn't the type of movie I see myself revisiting but at least i can say that I've seen it.
Also, the sci-fi nerd in me finds it funny to see David Prowse in this movie.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader!

Original image located here. Accessed 4th September 2020

And so, following from Prince Caspian last week, we arrive at the followup. Can't say i read the book, as opposed to the other movies, but I do remember this segment from the BBC adaptation quite vividly. So maybe that may yield a fresh perspective?

Once again the strengths of this movie series are evident: Plenty of imagination, stunning locations, impressive special effects, an adaptation that somehow achieves the difficult balancing act between being faithful and putting a new take on the material, and a cast giving their all & injecting their characters with plenty of personality. I think it's fair to say that this is the point where the movies stopped looking over the shoulder of the Lord of the Rings movies and started down their own path.
Also the idea of Eustace being a steadfast sceptic in spite of being transported to a high fantasy world is an idea that has plenty of mileage.

However, there is no getting around it: This is the endpoint of this particular movie series. It is indeed disappointing as there was a lot going for this serial and was, so far, shaping up to be the strongest adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia - how fitting it is then that the final image in the movie is a door closing. Which means now that the rest of the books in the series (four for those keeping score) will remained unfilmed, the series will remain incomplete and the entirety of having the whole series adapted remains out of reach.
All hope now falls to the proposed Netflix adaptation to carry the baton but somehow I doubt it can match, let alone surpass, this effort.
Besides, I doubt I can accept Aslan being voiced by someone who isn't Liam Neeson

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th August 2020

I've always had a soft spot for the Chronicles of Narnia. Sure, it may be easy to dismiss it for it's simplicity and it's heavy-handed Christian allegory, but for me, it was one of, if not THE, first exposures I had to high fantasy. And I have since never looked back. They say 'get them while they're young' and it certainly worked for me.
I did see the first movie in this (now unfinished) saga but, for some reason or another, I never got around to seeing the rest of it. Well, now is a good as any to rectify this situation.

It may be easy to sneer at this movie for it wishing it was the Lord of the Rings trilogy but it still has enough to make it capable of standing on it's own two feet. I loved the battle scenes, the creativity in use, the visuals, the presence of Peter Dinklage, the character development (sadly this is the last we will see of Susan and Peter) and the dialogue and the effort being put into to adapt what is one of the lesser titles in the Chronicles.
It does seem like a high-fantasy-movie-lite but ii does it's job and it does it well.

A Whisker Away

And this week's Friday night movie has been... A Whisker Away!

Original image located here. Accessed 21st August 2020

We're taking another trip to the anime well with one that the gf chose. This time, we having a gander at Netflix's attempt at making an anime. Or, to be more accurate, Netflix's attempt to beat Ghibli at their own game.

To be honest, that last sentence pretty much sums up my feelings toward this movie - it became apparent early on and, try as I might, it was a difficult perception to shake off. A Whisker Away certainly comes across as aiming to replicate the imagination and whimsy of Ghibli - as well as the beautiful scenery, detailed animation, quiet moments and dynamic female lead.
Indeed, the more I think about it, the more the comparisons to Ghibli seem inescapable.

Okay seriously, despite such grumbling, there is still a lot to like about this movie. The lead character may be annoying and clingy but she goes through some vital character development. The plot is interesting and goes in interesting directions. The animation is detailed and well done.
So in the end, it's a solid effort.

Sunset Boulevard

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

Original image located here. Accessed 14th August 2020

Hey, it's the movie based on the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical
But seriously, the musical was how I became aware of Sunset Boulevard - my dad had a CD of Lloyd Webber's best known songs and it contained musical's theme song ("Kiss someone's wife! Kiss someone's ass!"). So it was a surprise to seventeen year old me that there was actually a move that came well before it. A movie that has gone down in history as being one of the greats of cinema.

And they weren't kidding: Photography and set design that would be more at home in a horror movie. A scathing critique of Hollywood that makes me wonder how those involved agreed to do it. And the performance to end all performances from Gloria Swanson. You know how people talk up a movie only for it to turn disappointing? That certainly is the case. A monumental picture that has not been tarnished with age (70 years!).
Funny thing, I've seen this and The Talented Mr Ripley - two films that came up on my radar from the connection to The Disaster Artist/The Room. So has Tommy Wiseau seen this? One can only wonder.....

Ponyo

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

Original image located here. Accessed 7th August 2020

Once again, we take a trip to the anime and once again it's Studio Ghibli film.
I must confess: I have always had a degree of caution with Hayao Miyazaki - or to be more precise, everything that has followed since his first final movie Princess Mononoke. Sure I love Miyazaki's work as much as the next person, but for all his movies made after Princess Mononoke and all his announcements of retiring that never seem to last long, there is a sense of how long he can keep going. Are Miyazaki's advancing years catching up to him? Can anyone keep a winning streak of movies up for so long? He's gotta produce a dud movie at some point (thereby proving he is indeed human like the rest of us), right?

Well it won't be this time around. Okay, so yes this may be aimed at a younger audience, yes there are some issues around the plot, yes there are some abrupt developments narrative-wise but I am willing to forgive all of this for the truly wonderful animation. As expected in a Ghibli there are some astonishing high level of animation with some staggering attention to detail.
Is it a dud? No. Is it one of Miyazaki's lesser works? Yes. Is it ultimately a blotch on an otherwise illustrious track-record? of course not.

Paddington

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

Original image located here. Accessed 31st July 2020

Being a child of the eighties, I grew up in an era where the movies for children were some real hardcore stuff (ie Never-ending Story and Labyrinth). But when the nineties rolled around, movies aimed at families tended to be weak, lacking in bite and a struggle for adults to sit through. Thus, it is only in recent years that this stigmata against 'family' movies are now turning around and the audience aren't being  treated as idiots. And Paddington, it would appear, is one such example.

As i have yet to sire children, this enables me to judge this movie from outside it's family demo-graph and see if it stands on it's own two feet. And what do you know, it succeeds admirably. This movie is very funny, complete with a British sense of humour, and is surprisingly touching. Also seeing Sally Hawkins, Peter Capaldi and Nicole Kidman in this is hilarious to me.
Having seen this movie, along with the How to Train Your Dragon series and the Pixar stable, it seems to me that filmmakers are aiming for an approach of 'family movie that adults can watch without their kids'. If that is the case then more of the same please.

It Must Be Heaven

And this week's Friday night movie has been... It Must be Heaven!

Original image located here. Accessed 24th July 2020

Let me say this up front: I am not a fan of 'arty' movies. You know the type I'm referring to: The kind of movies that are loaded with images that have symbolism and little else. The kind of movies that have no plot favoring instead a series of non-sequiturs. The kind of movies that thrill critics (read: people who write words for a living). And the kind of movies that come across as being self-indulgent and clearly made by one guy yelling "Ask me what it means!" in a non-stop fashion.

So one would think that I would despise this movie. And yes I will admit that was indeed a challenge to get through. But if that was the case then it must have made some kind of impression on me. Considering that director Elia Suleiman dominates on both sides of the camera, this movie still doesn't strike me as self-indulgent.
There is indeed humour at work but it is strange to see it amongst scenes that don't appear to go anywhere. There is a hypnotic quality to this film but it appears to be at odds with a commentary on being a Palestinian.
So yes, this is quite an odd movie but at the same time, it has indeed a seductive quality to it. And that is enough to save it from being a target of contempt.
After all, if a movie can do that then it must be doing something right.

The Wind Rises

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

Original image located here. Accessed 17th July 2020

We're heading back down to the anime well this time. And in a way encountering this movie was inevitable. It's a Studio Ghibli, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and it's a..... biographical picture? Well this is a new trick.

I've watched a lot of anime over the years and, as such, I've found that it's a medium where biopics are rarely touched upon (or least the one's I've found). So to have the legendary Studio Ghibli tackle one is cause to raise an eyebrow. And in this case, we have a movie on Jiro Horikoshi and his life as an aircraft designer

Of course, this being a Miyazaki movie there are elements we've come to expect: Flying sequences and a high quality of both animation & story-telling. All are present but there are new some tricks at play: Firstly is it's nature as a biographical film. Secondly, Miyazaki's imagination/whimsy takes a backseat to a more realistic approach. Sure there are some flights of fancy but here they are shown to be few and far between. And thirdly, Miyazaki's trope of female characters isn't in play here. Granted this is down to it being a biographic movie but I can't think of any other of his movies where a male character has such a dominating presence.
Seems you can indeed teach an old dog new tricks.

Ultimately, Miyazaki's touch is as sure as ever. The Wind Rises is quiet, thoughtful and beautiful.
Much has been said how this was the last movie that Miyazaki will be working on. So is it the curtain call that Tale of Princess Kaguya was? Maybe. I never got the impression that Miyazaki is saying good bye - There is some discussion on seeing dreams come to fruition but the most explicit sense of saying goodbye is the conversation at the end.
Wait, Miyazaki is working on yet another final movie? Oh well, never mind then...

Mirai

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

Original image located here. Accessed 10th July 2020

We're taking another trip into the anime well today. And another look into the mind of one my favorite anime creators, Mamoru Hosoda. I loved Wolf Children, I loved Summer Wars, I loved the Girl who Leapt through Time and Boy & the Beast was pretty good too. So can the Midas touch strike again?

No way around this: This is a movie that demands time. At first I didn't know what to think of it but slowly (and surely) this movie does reveal itself.
The strongest in this movie is it's depiction of families. Granted this is a strength of Hosoda's work but here, we are shown a family through a young child. The child in question may be loud, obnoxious, threatened by the arrival of a younger sibling and frustrated by unhelpful adults but that's the point. I have seen plenty of depictions of children in animated form but this certainly is the most realistic approach. Furthermore, the life lessons taught over the course of the movie are interesting and, the conclusion still works, proving that self-acceptance is a ploy that will never fail.
This may not be the most welcoming of movies but when it hits, it knocks it off the park. I know some people didn't like Boy and the Beast but having seen Mirai I think it's fair to say that Hosoda may be back on track. So what will he do next....?

Knives Out

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

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd July 2020

Man, hasn't this movie been proving itself to be something of a critical darling. I however noticed the name of writer/director Rian Johnson: the guy who gave us the Last Jedi and has thus been something of a polarizing figure in the Star Wars community. So the question here is can he do something with his own material?

Apparently he can. This is a murder mystery, worthy of Agatha Christie, but with some interesting twists on the tried-and-tested formula. Although it may not be immediately apparent at first, this is indeed compelling to watch and, as with any murder mystery, the clues are all there and there's no cop-out. Plus, the twist are enough to keep this movie standing on it's own two feet
Plus, this movie has a Southern James Bond and a Jerk Captain America - which should be the price of admission alone.