(series review) - Skeleton Crew

So, when I think about my era when growing up, I think about the films I was too young to watch, but they were a product of that era. I think of the cartoons I really enjoyed, they too were a product of that era. I also think about the family/kids films I watched on repeat which were also a product of that era. 'Goonies', 'Flight of the Navigator', 'ET', 'Star Wars!' Let us not forget that Star Wars has ALWAYS been a "family"/children's movie. Times have changed and what we deem appropriate for children back in the day is NOT appropriate now. An example of this is when I was younger and I went to the park to play on the swings, slides and roundabouts, the ground in which these things were placed/mounted/on, was concrete. Nowadays, it is a bouncy tar-like substance and before then it was wood chips. I say that to say this, children's shows have changed a lot and whilst there may be people, some, who say Star Wars is too kiddy, newsflash, it has always been for kids, it's just that the dynamics of that has evolved and quite arguably, there is more of a sliding scale to what is deemed for kids, children, teens and young adults. The people complaining Star Wars is too kiddy have grown up with Star Wars their entire lives, just like the kids now who are doing the same. I have mentioned a couple films in previous reviews and in this series, where this show takes influences from, all in all, Disney has successfully stuck the landing on this series and I can quite honestly say, I really enjoyed Skeleton Crew.

Wim is a young imaginative child who dreams of the stars in the sky, the battles heard in the legends, the good guys, the bad guys, and Jedi, but when he stumbles across what he believes is an old Jedi tomb, Wim and his best friend Neel seek the tomb out, only to discover it is an old spaceship with a droid on it, that takes off and leaves his planet of At Attin taking the pair and a couple of stragglers Fern and KB with them into the vast unknown of space. The kids have to find their way back to At Attin, well if At Attin is even a real place.

As the show progresses, the kids learn more about the galaxy beyond their planet. They learn that there are many worlds, cultures, aliens, and creatures, along with good and bad people. This show depicts the innocence of youth. The children learn from each other, about each other, and about themselves as they are pushed to make choices that could save or end their lives. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place.

The show is jovial, pleasant and charming. I think the things that attracted me to this show and kept me watching week after week were the layers, what the showrunner was trying to do and how the main focus was always centred around the kids and their perspectives. When you watched The Goonies, it was about the kids going on an adventure to find 'One-Eyed Willy' and his buried treasure. Whilst you could call this show "Goonies in Space" ultimately, it is about a child and his friends who are trying to find their way home after having got lost in space, but Pirates are the ones trying to find the "buried" treasure. The show also did not feel like adults pretending to be kids and the dialogue did not come across as childish, they are children. They are children so they should think, act and behave as such. So being a fully grown adult watching this and rolling your eyes at some of the things they do, you need to understand, that these ARE indeed, children. "Unclaimsies" has to be one of the most childish things to say, but it works. There are a few telegraphed twists, but for the most part, the show keeps getting you to ask questions and slowly giving you a reveal later as the show goes on.

The show commits to its swashbuckling pirate theme and tone throughout which is surprisingly "on brand"? or do I mean it simply fits? Considering Star Wars is a Space Samurai movie as a Western or is it a Space Western with Samurais, a Space Pirate show with Samurais just fits in. It is not the first time we have seen Pirates in Star Wars as they are dotted about in 'The Clone Wars' series as well as the 'Rebels' series, 'The Mandalorian' series etc, but the music, the score, all lends to the swashbuckling adventure these children are on whilst still sounding like Star Wars in a galaxy far far away and it does not seem out of place.

As for the music, I loved it. The special effects? Money was definitely put into this project and it shows. A mixture of practical and special effects. The acting was also great because it brought these characters to life. Wim's dad seemed a bit wishy-washy at the beginning as they should have delved deeper into his background with a few lines or so, but towards the end, his story -arc got better. As for the children they were all great. Wim was annoying at first but being the dreamer, his personality made sense (he was the Luke Skywalker of the bunch). The same with Fern and KB. My favourite character was Neel and what I liked that they did with each child, was they gave them an arc from the beginning of the show until the end. They all had meaningful conversations that changed them going forward juxtaposing Jod who accompanied the children and had the most rapport with them, but stayed true to who he was as a person throughout. SM-33 (the droid) had to be one of my favourite characters and Nick Frost did an amazing job with the voice work. He was a very interesting character, in some cases, powerful and intimidating, but also very funny.

If you are open to Star Wars or 80s nostalgia, I could not recommend this more as not only does it deliver that feel of movies from the 80s, but the show is wholesome fun with a few dark spots here and there. The show felt a lot like Star Wars but on the other side of the galaxy. It did not feel small by including all these things we know from Star Wars, such as Jedi, Light sabre fights, the Millennium Falcon or other bits. Some of these things were mentioned which simply helped with the world-building, like seeing familiar alien types but that was fine. When this was first announced, I was dubious and we did not hear much about it, but now that I have watched the series, I can confirm, that this is a very good watch and entertaining.

(film review) - Captain Marvel

We are at a stage in our lives and in Marvel's franchise that an origin movie may now be out of place.  I mean our lord savour, Kevin Feige has mentioned no more origin movies, yet this one is a semi origin movie with a twist and ultimately, Marvel has stumbled with this one.  It's sad to say, but they have and although I will review the film, I won't go into all the details and spoil anything, but reasons as to why they stumbled but didn't fall.
Marvel have stumbled with many films.  Their way of doing something different and/or when they first started out, they were slowly piecing together what they wanted to do with the franchise.  The Incredible Hulk is good, Ironman 2 is good, Thor: The Dark World is good and Ironman 3 is Goodish (not one of my favourites at all), but Marvel have had greater and many more hits than misses and have made small ret-cons here and there.  One of the major ones of recent, by no fault of their own I guess, was with the Spider-Man: Homecoming movie, regarding the year.  But that came down to communication and "admin" error? However, this is something that has  been more forgiving by fans and helps with the integrating of such character into a grander story.  If the new and upcoming Avengers: Endgame grosses around 3 billion worldwide, we are looking at a 10 Billion Dollar Franchise.  10 Billion.  That's 9 zeroes.
But how does Captain Marvel's story fit into this? Well, any way Marvel can squeeze it in...for the women of the world!?

Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) is a Kree operative for Starforce who goes by the name of Vers.  She is a confident, upbeat, determined, yet hard-headed woman who get's the job done at any cost.  She has a good moral compass but is plagued by dreams and visions of what seems to be another life.  On a mission to eradicate the Kree's sworn enemies, The Skrulls, the mission goes wrong and from that point, Carol aka Vers spends the rest of the movie trying to figure out the mysteries of her dreams and visions, who she really is and what and whom she is ultimately fighting for.

It sounds great on paper, but I personally feel that this movie could have been executed in a better way.  This is where I feel they stumbled, and not fell.  I felt that it was not fully fleshed out and that some of the characters could have had more depth as well as maybe, the film being a psychological thriller, a bit like how 'The Winter Soldier' was a 70's political thriller.  With the themes in the movie, this film could have touched on that in a big way.  What is real and what isn't.  Who am I?  Total Recall did that.  And for the most part, that movie is a classic for many reasons.  But they would still need to cater to the young ladies of the world to aspire to be Captain Marvel.

I didn't hate the film as I quite enjoyed it.  Brie is not miscast at all and their are some great visuals and some really quiet moments that allow particular characters to shine.  Lashana Lynch is great as well as Samuel L. Jackson.  But as I said earlier, some character development with some other characters would have made the story a bit meatier.  There are some decent visual gags as well as the many mid-nighties references.  With many easter eggs and visual references of movies from that era, this movie hits it out of the park, but ultimately felt like a Phase 1 Movie in a Phase 3 world.  Doctor Strange is a origin movie, even Black Panther, yet these movies feel like they pack more of a punch, especially with Black Panther...and this woman has glowing fists!  I felt that it was shoehorned into the MCU because DC made a Wonder Woman movie which was very good.  And these two giants are in deep competition with each other, so there is always a company trying to out-do the other and this is possibly another reason why Marvel stumbles.

A lot of people are saying Carol is over powered and personally, although that is somewhat true, I feel we should have more powerful characters in the MCU, because this is how we will separate the many different tiers of these heroes and be able to tell a variety and multitude of different stories.  Phase 4 is looking to be great and varied, especially with the conclusion of the Fox Deal, I'm very interested in seeing what Carol will be doing in Avengers: Endgame and after.  A sequel and the many prospects it has is great fore the future of the MCU as well as the many women and little girls who will feel empowered by Captain Marvel.

(film review) - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Have you seen the first Sherlock Holmes which came out a year ago starring Robert Downey, Jr & Jude Law? Did you read my review I did on the film? Sherlock Holmes? All I can say is that this film is missing a lot of things yet replacing with a whole lot more.

Before, I said Sherlock Holmes was batty with a sensitive nose and great eye for detail; nothing has changed.
In this film, Sherlock Holmes is caught in a game of mind games with his nemesis Professor Moriarty who seems to be 1 step ahead of Holmes in every single way possible and out whitting/smarting Holmes so that he can get away war profiteering. You'd think that with Sherlock Holmes being really intelligent and constantly "high" on opium, you'd think this would be impossible.

Without spoilling the film, I'd say that if you enjoyed the first film, you will definately enjoy the second as although there is no bare knuckle boxing, Robert Downey, Jr once again brings Sherlock Holmes to life and provides the batty, insane comedy in which IS Sherlock Holmes. As well as Robert BEING Ironman, he IS most definately Sherlock Holmes as he carries the character soo well and the relationship between himself and Watson are unparrelled in terms of working together. The brotherly love is there and believable and you can tell that the actors had fun doing this film.

Guy Ritchie once again injections his COOL into this film and you also get to see the pre-though calculations in which Sherlock Holmes does before he acts out a move/action. Even better, at then end of the film, showing how smart and calculative Professor Moriarty when they show his pre-thought process battling Sherlock Holmes. The Battle of Genius. Genius. Go see, it's very good. Infact, Great.

(film review) - Sherlock Holmes

Robert Downey Jr. is on a role. After disappearing for a while as he has been in and out of trouble with the police and rehab for substance abuse issues, I do believe he is choosing good roles and he is on top form. If you haven't seen 'The Soloist', I suggest you go see it. But not only that film, he has been in 'The Incredible Hulk' and not only 'Iron Man 1' but the second instalment is out later on this year and the trailer looks excellent.

Sherlock Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie is not your normal Sherlock Holmes. Guy Ritchie has injected his 'COOL' into this character. The same kind of COOL he injected in other films such as 'Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels', 'Snatch' & 'RocknRolla'. This film has you look at Sherlock Holmes as a strangely random and unorthodox genius. To me, Sherlock Holmes came across as batty. Batty being a bit crazy. However, with his acute eye for detail and his intelligence, his batty behaviour can only be described as someone who is so intelligent, that they often think at a rapid speed that their behaviour seems a little crazy for the onlooker.

Sherlock Holmes(Robert Downey Jr.) and his partner, Dr. John Watson(Jude Law) race to stop a human sacrifice conducted by Lord Blackwood(Mark Strong). With reason's to believe that Lord Blackwood practices sorcery the police imprison him and before they hang him, Lord Blackwood tells Holmes that 3 more deaths will occur after his excution. Dr. Watson pronounces Lord Blackwood dead, but 3 days later, they find his coffin smashed open and the body of a red haired Midget inside instead of Blackwood. Sherlock Holmes along with Dr. Watson must now try and piece together all the bits and pieces surrounding a red haired midget, Lord Blackwood, his sorcery, holmes' ex-acquaintance, her employer and a plot that will change the world forever.

I didn't know what to expect from this film. In all honesty, the trailer kind of portrays something else than what you actually see, but what you actually see is not what you actually expect. So in saying that, what you actually expect is something that, not only doesn't fit the film's trailer, but also doesn't fit the film, however, the film still comes across as watchable and enjoyable.

Sherlock Holmes in my eyes is a Deerstalker wearing, Pipe smoking detective with a partner who is a doctor, but in this version, he is a witty, intelligent and fast thinking detective with an acute eye for detail and nose for smells, who has a brotherly-love type of relationship with Dr. Watson who in his spare time does a spot of bare knuckled boxing. On the other hand Dr. Watson is also smart but comes across as a bit of a ruffian thug. I couldn't help thinking whilst watching the film that Dr. Watson, although he is a doctor, how comes he seems to enjoy fighting people? Throughout the film, it just seemed that Dr. Watson couldn't get enough of having a bit of a punch-up. You see in this film that, one cannot survive without the other.

How Guy Ritchie directs this film, you see the Guy Ritchie in it and if you do like Guy Ritchie films, you will definitely like this. It's Smart, Witty and funny. I do feel that it could have been a lot darker and sinister and possibly longer with a bit more action and twists, but what was seen was good and enjoyable. It even ended with the possibility of a sequel.

Go and see this film. In Cinema's NOW!
Trailer: