(episode review) - The Skeleton Crew: Episode 5

Every week gets better and better. The writers of this show understood the assignment. Write something engaging, starring kids, paying homage to the 80's children's classics such as 'The Goonies' or 'Flight of the Navigator' and voila. This episode was great!

Off the back of the last episode, the kids are trying to find their way home and turn on SM-33, who takes them to the planet. However, on the planet, there are secrets and with secrets, often means danger. On top of that, the children are now on the run from pirates!

This episode was just great and one of the last scenes had me laughing out loud for practically 5 minutes as Wim does something I won't say due to spoilers, but I found it hilarious. This side of Star Wars with all this swashbuckling is actually decent. Although I have had a taste of it in 'The Clone Wars' and 'Rebels' this was actually still pretty good and entertaining. With only a few episodes left, the kids WILL get back to their parents but it would be great if, at the end, they are lost in space and have to figure it out. Is that too dark?

(trailer review) - Superman

I only really like two DC hero characters...have a good guess as to which two. With that said, all the James Gunn movies I have seen, I have also liked. The Guardians of the Galaxy Trilogy is actually outstanding, although Volume 2 was not as great as Volume 1 and Volume 3, especially not Volume 3...and his 'The Suicide Squad' was better than Suicide Squad. I say all that to say this, I trust in James Gunn and his vision and this trailer right here looks GREAT! It is a teaser trailer, so please bear that in mind, but that chant is now echoing in my dome and I want to see this NOW!

This trailer shows us a lot of content regarding many characters and better than most Superman trailers, shows us from the very beginning that Superman is going to be challenged and tested. He looks like he has taken a battering and they started the trailer with that, introducing his Dog Krypto. Superman is otherworldly so often, fighting foes, they usually weaken Superman to fight his enemies, but in this case, we might see Superman fighting with other heroes AND pushing himself to show humanity, Truth, Justice and the American way. We see Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern as well as Lex Luther, looking extremely pretty and angry (what? he is a handsome guy). We also see Lois Lane, Papa Jonathan Kent and I'm sure many more I could not identify. This looks great. Very comic book-looking and very different from Zacks. I look forward to seeing the official trailer but so far I am sold... especially with that chant in my head... Superman, Superman, Superman, Superman.

(film review) - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (with Live Orchestra)

It bares repeating that Sony have not done a great job with the Spider-Man IP. The only great bunch of movies are the "Home-Trilogy" with Tom Holland (a joint venture with Marvel) and these "Spider-verse" movies. With the recent release of 'Venom: The Last Dance' which was ok (better than the second but not better than the first), 'Morbius', which was not good, 'Madame Webb', I hear was terrible and now, the soon-to-be released, 'Kraven the Hunter', nothing seems to be as close and/or as great as this Spider-verse franchise of yet, and as I have stated before in my last review and I quote "if they stick the landing in a third film, this can quite possibly be, the BEST Sony Spider-Man trilogy project Sony has ever done or better yet, the best Trilogy in film, period (I do not believe I am exaggerating here either)...because this film remains to be simply incredible. And under a live orchestra, the film is elevated to levels unknown. 

If you do not know much about 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse', it is about a student named Miles Morales who was bitten by a radioactive spider, becomes Spider-Man but then realises there are different universes that have a Spider-Man in them. He continues to be Spider-Man after the end of the first film "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse", trying his best to balance his life as the wall crawler and a student. He wants to be the best person he can be, a good son to his wonderful and supportive parents and Spider-Man, but not unlike all spider-men, he is struggling to find that balance. When Gwen Stacy comes back into this reality to stop a villain who is intrinsically tied to Miles, Miles has to figure out who and what type of Spider-Man he will continue to be going forward and if he is going to follow the crowd or create his own path.

I saw this movie once in the cinema and I will repeat myself here again, the film was Incredible. They set a high standard and bar for the first movie 'Into the Spider-Verse' so announcing a sequel was going to definitely raise eyebrows and the sequel, not only levels up but goes above and beyond the original in many ways detailed in my review...but an live orchestra? Such a phenomenal experience. 

I experienced an orchestral concert with the first Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie and I loved it, but to experience this again for the second movie is amazing. I cannot promote this experience enough as I sat and watched the movie to a live orchestra who played the music in the movie, throughout the movie. 

So how does it work? You sit and watch the movie as normal like in a cinema, but you have your introduction to the composer and such but when the movie starts, so does the orchestra and they do not stop until the credits have finished rolling.

There are moments in the movie the orchestra is not playing and the DJ might be scratching, but all the musical cues are played by the orchestra.

If there is one annoyance and negative I had about the experience, was that some of the quieter moments with music cues are barely heard because in front of a live orchestra is very loud, but...you don't go to a movie with an live orchestra to see the movie for the first time, that is ridiculous.

I have no idea when the third film is due out, but I will be watching that, THEN watching/listening to the live orchestra when they do that again. It is such an experience for such a great movie, it would be silly to watch the movie, love it, but not watch it again with a live orchestra. Silly. Next time you hear of something like this with a movie you love, indulge yourself.

You can only appreciate the artistry and many hands that were involved in this project. This is a must experience, experience.

(film review) - Wicked

Everyone has seen 'The Wizard of Oz', right? If you have not seen this movie, it is possibly due to being born within the last 10-15 years and nobody who cared about the film or you (for that matter) thought it would be a great idea to show you the movie. Tragic. Not to say 'The Wizard of Oz' is an amazing movie, but it is a really good one and considered a classic. I would have to watch it again as an adult to see if there are any messages in it but from what I remember, Dorothy finds herself on the yellow brick road and she's on her way to see the Wonderful Wizard of Oz who should grant her and her new friend's wishes. We heard of a few witches and was introduced to a Wicked Witch who ultimately died with a house falling on their head (I think) or did she melt having had water thrown onto her? I cannot remember really but it was a brief introduction and quick demise of the Wicked Witch of the West, so learning about a theatre production called 'Wicked' and learning it was about the Wicked Witch of the West, ultimately I did not care but I gave it a go. It was really good. I came away from the theatre show thinking it was a really good show, really good production, really good acting, really good story, everything about it was excellent, so hearing there would be a movie starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, ultimately I did not understand the Cynthia casting. Cynthia is a black person and will be painted green, so what is the point? Is this an inclusivity thing where of late Hollywood have been trying to make a lot of movie adaptations inclusive? It is not a bad thing because inclusivity is very much needed but I could not help but wonder that. After watching the movie I could not help but to walk away feeling almost exactly how I felt after watching the theatre production but times one hundred. The movie was operating on levels the theatre production did not and it hit differently...I'll explain.

Two sisters are born and grow up having different experiences in their life. Elphaba who was born with green skin is treated differently to her sister and struggles to make friends even when she starts college. However, when a teacher sees potential in Elphaba, this sparks the interest of Gelinda who is trying to be noticed by the same teacher. This ignites a little jealousy between Gelinda towards Elphaba until they eventually fall out.

I'll take this opportunity to highlight that I have taken great liberties with my summary due to spoilers and I have somewhat told a simpler version and a not as accurate summary of this story because there is soo much to this movie that is operating on many different layers and to that point, you need to see the movie for yourself to understand and enjoy.

It is not just about jealousy, the movie is much more than that. The movie is about being an outcast, believing in yourself, being strong, challenging the system no matter the consequences, doing what you think is the right thing to do, having tough skin, honing your talent among many many other things. So many layers! And when this movie ended, I could not help but to think how this movie touched me in ways I did not think it was going to initially. It hits different and I can only applaud the mastery of the story, the writing, the acting, the casting and the execution because there was also a scene where I got emotional. You feel for Elphaba in the theatre production because everyone treats her terribly and they did not change that for the movie. I think the ONLY bit I did not get/like was the very end of the movie. The movie stops abruptly and in my head, we now have the Wicked Witch but I am yet to see how the sequel will play out. It only rubs me up the wrong way because I know what happens later, but because the transition is not there, in my head I am forcing the two together (not on purpose of course) and it does not gel well.

As previously stated, this movie is basically flawless, from casting to the acting. This movie has joint leading roles with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, but I have heard that they are pushing Ariana for Oscar consideration and I have also noted that this has not gone down well with a group of people. They seem to want Cynthia to be pushed and it almost seems like, a "regardless of who had the better role and simply due to colour", but I will say, between the two actors, Ariana Grande was phenomenal. I have heard she has been acting since young, she's a singer and also very talented, but I had no idea what to expect from her in this movie, but she knocks the performance out of the park. She is soo good and her comedy beats are spot on. Just thinking about her performance brings a smile to my face with the little nuances and behaviour, her face acting and delivery, excellent. As for Cynthia, although she was great in the role, I feel the story plays to Ariana's favour where she is able to deliver a great performance where Cynthia, although superb, we are only skimming the surface at a beginning level. We are only just starting to see how the story will unfold with Elphaba and what Cynthia delivers in themovie, is a lot of brilliant acting without saying a great deal in places. Facial acting, body language acting, Cynthia is able to convey how she feels without saying a word and you sympathise with her. There is a scene where she dances and I was very close to tears it was so good. So although I understand why some may feel a "white person" is being pushed for Oscar buzz over a black person, I have heard when we have all watched the sequel, Cynthia will be pushed instead of Ariana as I believe the story will play to Cynthia's favour where she is able to deliver a great performance where Ariana will also be great but the film will be the reverse of the first movie in what I just explained.

Going back to casting, I feel like, never in my life have I ever seen such a diverse cast in any movie. It felt like the movie was 50% white and 50% POC with 50% LGBTQ+ and 50% disabilities, but it all felt seamless and natural. At times, there were so much people on screen, the movie also felt like a theatre production with everyone singing and dancing in unison. 

The music, great! I am not keen on musicals but I do not hate them, but Wicked is also known for it's musical numbers and it was great. I think one of the issues I had going in were the fact that I was trying to remember what I heard in the theatre all those years ago, but failed so all the music seemed unfamiliar to me and I think deep down that upset me because I enjoyed the show, enjoyed the music, but have not gone back to watch it since so none of the music stood out to me and deep down I probably wanted to sing along.

Lastly, the direction and the visuals, phenomenal. Combine that with practical sets, the world of Oz feels lived-in and vast. It is very colourful and very appealing to the eye in weird and wonderful ways. There are not many scenes that go by that are not captivating or visuals/angles that do no speak many words and tell a different story. The camera work is great and the film has a duality throughout with characters as well as story and only if you are paying close attention, these will stand out to you. You may need to watch the movie several times to see all the Easter eggs in the many shots and even where the movie will lead to in the sequel, who knows. But from what I do know, this film is great and I definitely implore you to watch this film whether you like musicals or not.

(trailer review) - Snow White

 

So...Snow White. I cannot remember the story of snow white at all as it has been such a long time since I have seen it so I am trying to understand if the evil "witch-like" person who (if I remember correctly, disguises herself as the old lady with the apple) gives Snow White the apple because she wants to be prettier than Snow White. Is that the story? I really do not remember, but if so and if Gal Gadot is playing the "ugly" (not so pretty witch) this is simply WILD to me. There must be a spin on this or I could definitely have got the story wrong, but although Renee is pretty, Gal is stunning. Anyway, I remember there being some uproar regarding the dwarves and how small people wanted themselves represented in the movie by using small people actors rather than CGI, so I do wonder how this is going to go once it has been released as I have not heard anything in a few months. No community wants to be marginalised and outright CGI'ed out of existence because essentially, there are no small people actors, so when we live in a world where we are making more noise and uproar about representation, it would be interesting to learn of any future backlash once the movie has come out. Other than these things that hit me immediately while watching this trailer, the trailer seems decent.

They are going with the abnormally big and cartoon-ish heads of the dwarves and there will be a huge section of this movie where Rachel will be interacting with CGI characters and creatures, so I am wondering if that will hold (or keep the movie-going audience happy and interested?  If I am honest with you, the trailer slightly jarred me as it seemed a bit off and forced, so I am not sure how I will feel about it as a whole watching the entire movie. The trailer looks great and all, but there is something about it that feels/seems a bit off as if the film has no soul to it. It seems a little empty and forced. Maybe I am thinking deep down that the film is not needed and I am projecting because it seems like the milking of another old Disney IP and maybe I am (or we, are) starting to see cracks in the Disney brand as a whole when it comes to these movies because, are they really needed? (no movie really ever is) but what will this "live-action" movie do differently for it to be a success other than follow a story we all already know (bar me of course, maybe?) Plus, Gal Gadot is really pretty, stunning even, so I do not think Rachel IS as pretty as her at all so this does somewhat perplex me. Maybe another trailer will sell me more on the story and premise

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(film review) - Gladiator II

When I first heard of the Gladiator 2 movie, I was not sure how to felt about it. This is a sequel to an old film and the premise they had at the time was something about Maximus coming back from the dead or something weird. It might have been a fake rumour or something else but eventually, the story started to circle around the son of Maximus and a similar premise to the previous movie. Then I started to hear that Joseph Quinn was joining the cast along with Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington, so it was starting to get meaty, you know. A nice healthy cast. The addition of Denzel threw me a little but, whatever, let's see what this is all about. The next thought I had was, do I watch the first movie before I watch this sequel or do I go in clean? You see I have not seen Gladiator since I saw it all those years ago in the cinema. I remember it being a long film and I also remember enjoying it. But then my thoughts started to circle the idea of comparing how the sequel should go and how it should make me feel based on the first one. So I wondered, should I watch the first movie for an update on the story? But would that ultimately put my mind in a place where I will constantly compare the sequel to the first movie. I was not sure what to do, so last night, I wanted to go cinema, I decided on Gladiator, I did not watch the first movie beforehand and upon coming out, "Are you not entertained?" Yes, I was.

The film picks up with Hanno (Paul Mescal), spending time with his wife Arishat before the Roman Army invades their city led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) ordered by the corrupt twin emperors. Once captured Hanno is tested as a fighter to become a potential gladiator only to build up his notoriety to take revenge on Acacius.

I enjoyed this movie. A bag of popcorn, drink, action, loud music, a wonderful score, really good acting, but a decent storyline, not a great one. The storyline is not anything groundbreaking at all and may even mirror the first movie but for what it is worth, I enjoyed the storyline even though it is definitely not one of Ridley's best. A few gripes I had with the movie were the special effects as they were not great and some of the set pieces and the things they did in the movie, due to using the special effects heavily, are the reasons why some of it just did not work and stood out like a sore thumb. I was very entertained by the end of the movie, which is the main thing as that is what we do as movie-goers; we are out trying to be entertained by stories that transport us from our reality. The special effect hinders that experience just a little. Some elements of the movie also made zero sense and were not explained but you simply run with it, it's a movie...relax and enjoy.

The acting was good and Denzel was also really good. Not his best work but a little different from some of the roles he has played previously. It was great to see Connie Nielsen and Joseph Quinn was ok, again nothing special about his character although his performance was good, but I do feel he was wasted, slightly (he's a good actor). I really liked Pedro Pascal's character as he had layers to him which as an audience you begin to understand later as the movie goes on, his motivations and reasonings. I will say Ridley did a great directing job with this movie but I do wonder if this movie was 20 years too late or if the execution is the issue or was it the writing? because Top Gun: Maverick has an even larger gap between the two movies but everything about that movie was written, acted and directed well.

I am going to watch the first one again and I am sure it is going to look dated in comparison since it came out 24 years ago, but without comparing the two (hopefully), chances are, they are both the same (for now) until I watch the first one again, which is still considered a classic, might I add. Paul Mescal is ok, but Russell Crowe had more weight on his performance and owned the role more than Paul. There was a level of gravitas Russell carried but Paul didn't seem to carry that in his performance. This is not saying he was trash, but maybe miscast, or swallowed and drowned out by Russell's performance. He had some pretty big shoes to fill, and that is the only comparison I can really make at this time. Go watch it, you will enjoy it.