(film review) - The Long Walk

The film has been out for a while, and I am pretty sure it will leave the cinema soon. This could be the last week or maybe there are a couple of weeks still left in it, but this film, if you have not already seen it, this movie is really good, brutal, but really damn good. I was not sure what to expect from the movie, as I had heard a couple of things, but I really did not expect to get emotional. Other than recognising Mark Hamill and David Jonsson, I did not know any other the other supporting characters and only that this was a Stephen King adaptation from a book he wrote. So let me explain.

In a dystopian future in a dystopian society, 50 young men from each state volunteer to enter a yearly competition called The Long Walk as a test of endurance, where the objective is to walk from point A to point B at no more or less than 3 miles per hour, and the last person standing wins a wish and riches. With all the competitors in this competition, some people do not get on, some make friends, but the game will test you and ultimately break you until there is a winner, whilst the whole country watches.

Whilst I will try not to go into spoiler territory, I have tried to keep the synopsis as light as possible, but this film was excellent, brutal and like I previously said, emotional. I cannot remember if it was near the beginning or in the middle, where I thought to myself and wondered, "Why would someone join a competition like this?" If there could be only one winner, how are most of them cheering each other on, helping one another to get up, and not be thinking, "there can be only one!". Do not get me wrong, it is mentioned in the movie and the characters know the rules and what you need to do to win the prize, as well as what happens to you if you do not keep to the rules, but I could not fully get behind the characters wanting to win, and also make friends. But I guess everyone is in the same situation, and you are doing it together. Maybe they did not think they could die or would not die to stay motivated to win, so making friends on the long walk is nice and all, but it is either you or your buddy, right? So with that said, this film is brutal because you cannot slow your pace as you must keep to 3 miles per hour and near the end, I was definitely shaken up, emotionally. 

All the characters have their reason for joining the competition and for a lot of them, some simply just want a better life or to come out of a tough situation, so the story centres mostly around a handful of characters where you may get a little information on, as they walk and trade stories, but I was definitely in tears when a specific character got a nose bleed. Not because of the nose bleed itself, but the actor who played the character was great and entertaining, so when it was his time, it hit me hard. It was unexpected and very sad as I caught myself getting attached to some of these characters, as you feel like you are with them along this journey. Before going into this film, I kept hearing about David Jonsson from the film 'Alien: Romulus' or TV show, 'Industry' and how good he is, and he is really good, but this unknown actor (to me anyway) was good as well, so when he went, I could not help but get emotional. David Jonsson is a rising star. Cooper Hoffman (son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) is great in this, and his character's motivations as to why he entered the competition, is a motivation I am sure most people watching will agree with, so there were a few moments that were heartbreaking. Because they have been walking for days at this point and you are often reminded how far they have walked with little food, no sleep and zero stops, as the audience watching them walk and walk and walk, there were times I felt like some scenes or imagery must be a hallucination as I couldn't quite get to grips of how long they have been walking and how I myself would feel in their battered shoes. But David Jonsson carried this movie on his back, and is clearly the standout. His backstory was also emotional, like plenty of the other contestants we get to know, so when you get to the end, you do wonder was any of it even worth it?

The cinematography was great. There were some long shots, wide shots, close-ups and some blurry shots where some of the graphical shots were pulled back from or right in front of the camera. The first death was crazy to see, and I audibly made a noise when it happened, but as the film goes on, deaths start popping up rapidly, or at least you could tell who was next to go as you see a character limping or even worse before they expire.

There is not much music in this film, as the film is carried by the acting and the interaction between characters.  The longer they walked, the longer you felt a bond with some specific characters, and you are rooting for them to win, or you are rooting for someone to eat it. You know, that one guy you dislike and you cannot wait for them to die horribly. At one point, one of the contestants had a radio, and that brought a tiny bit of levity to the story, where for a moment, the guys were frustrated, but at the same time, making the best of a bad and shitty moment, but in the end, this story is dark, bleak and also sad. The Hunger Games or Squid Game, but all you do is walk, not fighting one another, just a competition, because there could be only one. Great film. Go and see it as soon as possible, if those latter films are your thing, but also, if you like Stephen King, since it is a Stephen King adaptation after all.

(trailer review) - Halloween Kills

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You know, I thought the other trailers were great! I recently watched the very first Halloween recently so I could watch the second one also named Halloween which came out. I say second one because Halloween 2018 was meant to be a reboot/continuation of the first movie completely disregarding any other Halloween movie that came after like Halloween 2, Halloween 3 up to Halloween 8??? Then there was a reboot of the franchise that only went two films deep directed by Rob Zombie.  However, David Gordon Green basically came on board and directed the 2018 version and declaring anything that came before it that isn't the 1978 version, is not canon or apart of the overall story and this trailer kills!

Right now I cannot remember the 1978 version currently, but the 2018 version was decent. I enjoyed the atmospheric scenes and we are reintroduced to Michael, someone who does not seem to die, want to do or run, for that matter. Forever walking and teleporting and this trailer is no different. Just like the previous trailers, Michael seems to be on a rampage and Laurie isn't having any of it. With a sequel in the making, it would be interesting to learn some more about the body behind the mask.

Directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Thomas Mann, Anthony Michael Hall,

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(film review) - Ant-Man and the Wasp

So, recently we had Infinity War and Thanos came and shut things down.  He did what he came to do and that is (in case you didn't know), reduce the galaxy to half.  I won't go into his reasoning as that would be spoilers for those who may not have seen Infinity War yet, plus I've said enough already, but I can assure you, the post credits scene is something to look out for at the end of this movie.  But with that said, this movie is also a must see to give us an idea of what is to come next AND the fact that this movie is absolutely hilarious and a nice palette cleanser for what had JUST HAPPENED in the MCU.  I'll explain.

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, The Avengers have disbanded and everyone has gone their separate ways.  Due to Ant-Man's involvement, this has driven both Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank into hiding.  Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is on house arrest and spends his time trying to entertain himself and his daughter when she comes around and only has a few days left.  Hope and Hank (Michael Douglas) are planning on a rescue mission to the quantum realm and as Scott having been there, Hope reaches out to Scott to bring back a ghost from the past.  Meanwhile, a Ghost and a black market dealer Sonny Birch (Walton Goggins) are also after the technology making things difficult for both the mission and Scott.

First of all, this movie is a tremendous palette cleanser for the previous MCU movie as this movie is light-hearted and incredibly funny, the polar opposite to Infinity War.  There are moments that are touching, moments that are serious and lots of action with a ton of funny moments.  A comedy heist just like the original Ant-Man movie but this one may actually be funnier.

There are some great acting from the supporting cast members such as Michael Peña, Hannah John-Kamen and David Dastmalchian, the former and latter being returning characters.  The score is superb and Peyton Reed has done it again and I can only dream and Hope for a 3rd movie directed by him because he knows what he is doing to bring light-hearted fun and entertainment combined with action.

It was great seeing Lawrence Fishburne come over from DC and the ending credits is something that is required to stay behind for due to the nature of these Marvel Cinematic Universe movies which give you an insight to what may happen next.  If you can, watch it, you will laugh your head off and it is a feel good movie.

(film review) - Ant-Man

People make me laugh. I mean, I'm not entirely sure what it is, as I have thought about it for a little while, but I can only assume, 'popularity/familiarity'. I'll explain several experiences I have been through recently.
Upon watching the trailers, for this film, I have heard from females (might I add) "Ant-Man? Really? No, not watching that?" When I ask, "why not?" and the reply was always "Ant-Man? It sounds stupid! Ant-Man? C'mon!? And he can communicate with Ants? Nope, this sounds stupid". I cannot remember the exact verbatim, but along these lines. I usually laugh it off and encourage them to watch it but, I don't know. However, these same people may love the hell out of a Spider-Man or even Batman? Maybe it is the fact that he communicates with ants or because he can shrink in size. Anyway, I digress. But what I want you to do is, go in with an open mind.

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is a father who has not been doing well in his life. Incredibly smart, a great thief, but has a daughter in which he is trying to connect with, but due to his problems being out of work and incarcerated on occasion, Scott needs to change his life around. Scott crosses paths with Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) who offers him a job. Being down on his luck, Scott wants to make a difference and to be there for his daughter and takes the job, but the main objective upon taking this job requires Scott to steal something in a daring heist which will hopefully be the life/game changer he has been waiting for. Well, hopefully.

The films ongoing theme is fathers and their daughters and with that said, this film is brilliant. Exercuted very well. For those who don't know the history behind this film, it was meant to be made and released several years ago. When I say several, I mean before Ironman 1. But this film has gone through soo many writers and when Edgar Wright (known for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz & At World's End) left the project, most people thought the project was doomed. But I guess, 'In Marvel We Trust'? They haven't really failed us THAT bad, right? But due to Ant-Man having soo many issues, Story-Arcs and history of such marvel characters have been warped and twisted to servce the cinematic purpose, ie.e around Tony 'Ironman' Stark as it was really Hank Pym who created Ultron.

Michael Douglas on screen is great. The dynamics of the characters are fairly plausible too. With how the film was shot, could not have been shot any better as the cinematography is fascinating and engaging. When Ant-Man shrinks down to the size of an ant, that is when the film really shines. Interacting with the ants could have been silly and/or cheesy, but it works really well. With the ability to shrink and grow at will, laced with comedic elements, this film is a must see. Even Michael Peña who plays Luis, who is a friend of Scott Lang and is undeniably the funniest character in this film is evidently the character who will stand out to you more than anything. Some great dialogue, themes, scenes and quite a few laughs. If you don't laugh at least twice in this film, you are absolutely dead inside.

What you see in the trailer is not all of what you see in the film. The villain does seem like he is an after thought and the plot is similar to what we have seen before, but who cares? DC Fan Boys. You ought to enjoy this film. Well, at least if the trailer does something for you...then the film will definitely do something for you. Have a watch and enjoy!

(film review) - Carrie

This might be one of my shortest reviews. Not because the film was wack, but more to do with seeing this film for the first time without no previous film to go from. Even taking this film on it's own merit, there is not a lot to talk about.

As mentioned in wiki, the definition of a Reboot is as follows "In serial fiction, to reboot means to discard all continuity in an established series in order to recreate its characters, timeline and backstory from the beginning". With that said, in film and in hollywood, reboots are done because THEY are running out of ideas (well this is what I think). However, for the most part, reboots were done to revitalise a franchise and as we advance into the future with technologies changing daily, we can retell a story much better than how it was previously done before (sometimes). Nowadays, it is all about money, it would seem. Contracts and competition. An example of this would be, the new Spider-Man franchise.
To be honest, a lot of people won't understand the ins and outs and for the majority, most people simply won't and don't care. I mean all we want to do is watch a good film, right? When it comes to reboots, I don't have any real issues with them. I've see Scarface with Al Pacino which is a reboot. Man of Steel with Henry Cavil, which is a reboot and so is Star Wars with Chris Pine. However, whilst some reboots do well and even make the series much more relevant to the current era we live in, some just don't do well at all.

Carrie on the other hand was just a reboot for the sake of advancing a story to a modern era. Where the first film came out in 1976, a 2013 version was needed. Or not of course. Some things are best left as classics.

Carrie (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a young shy, unassertive girl approaching pubity living with her religious but disturbed mother, Margaret White (Julianne Moore) in the small town in Maine. Upon having her first menstrual period in school in the showers, Carrie is teased by her class and the event is recorded on a mobile phone by a bully. After being ridiculed by her class and sent home, her mother takes it out on her as she believes that the Menstrual cycle is a sin. Later Carrie discovers that she may have telekinesis and researches and practises it. Tommy, asks Carrie to go with him to the prom and on the night, when pig blood gets dumbed onto her, Carrie looses it and tears everything down using her manifested new powers.

For me, I can barely remember the original film and although there are elements I remember such as the pigs blood being dumbed on her and some scenes of the house, that is really about it. Although this film is a rehash of the previous film, I don't think the film offered much suspense or thriller. Yes it is a Horror and there were some parts where I was horrified by what I was seeing, but all in all, the film didn't offer much rather than bring a past film from the 70's to a new audience.
Chloe is a great actor and so is Julianne Moore, so although everything was acted out well, there was not much to the story. Maybe they should have changed it a little Total Recall.
An ok film, but nothing special and somewhat unnecessary.