tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83273079994045612602024-03-24T07:11:10.803+00:00The 'W' Movie BlogA film review blog where the only qualifier for entries is that the title starts with a 'W'.Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.comBlogger355125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-56352730630232667162023-04-10T10:51:00.003+01:002023-05-10T10:31:37.302+01:00No. 352 : Willy's Wonderland<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmBojIgJo38l5_PC-JWy2mdFLw0edp_5YwDssG9pdtfketwDloa8enNyTp4HQEh6p9X3CW-Y_UIu-G5IJA2IQyrhSIgB7F4dgbVIPrH3diEhyLvSfZxePep8KfpxRCJER25hi6xVV6UMf2hsGW8mDUltJh1iRgQcQ8bvieoop_XmKI3jbRJDoplZzeQ/s640/Willys-Wonderland.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmBojIgJo38l5_PC-JWy2mdFLw0edp_5YwDssG9pdtfketwDloa8enNyTp4HQEh6p9X3CW-Y_UIu-G5IJA2IQyrhSIgB7F4dgbVIPrH3diEhyLvSfZxePep8KfpxRCJER25hi6xVV6UMf2hsGW8mDUltJh1iRgQcQ8bvieoop_XmKI3jbRJDoplZzeQ/w367-h207/Willys-Wonderland.jpeg" width="367" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8114980/" target="_blank">Willy's Wonderland at the IMDb</a><br /></p><p>I found this soon to be cult classic on Amazon Prime and have to say that, despite myself, I actually quite enjoyed it. The film stars Nicholas Cage and appears to be from his ‘filmed in an afternoon to pay the tax bill’ phase. Its budget is listed as a lowly $5m and it was sponsored by the Malaysian film industry to the tune of 30%, which is confirmed by the credits list that suggest most of the post production was carried out overseas.</p><p><br /></p><p>With a foreign backer to appease the film took the bold decision to have its star have literally no lines of dialogue whatsoever - I imagine that saved plenty on the dubbing costs alone. Apart from a few grunts Cage has nothing to say at all, and if the intention was ‘mysterious’ it came across as ‘constipated’.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cage plays ’The Janitor’ a drifter, who for unexplained reasons, has a high end sports car. He drives through a small town when he hits a spike trap on the road causing a low end come to a stop - no budget for a big smash here. We quickly learn that this is small town movie cliché number one, with corrupt officials and police putting their well used plan into action. Cage doesn’t have the money for car repairs but a local businessman makes him a strange offer - clean up the abandoned fun house overnight and the $1000 repairs will be covered. Sounds like a good deal? HUGE mistake.</p><p><br /></p><p>Whilst Cage gets his mops and brushes organised, we have a side plot with a bunch of high school kids who are plotting to burn down the titular fun house. These are your typical teen slasher fodder and I don’t think a single one registered with me. </p><p><br /></p><p>Despite having no lines, Cage does show character depth - he drinks a can of energy drink every hour and plays pinball, even when fighting off a hoard of rampaging animatronic characters. Yes, the fun house is inhabited by 8 mascots all of whom have murderous intent. In a large info dump from the sheriff, we learn that the fun house was owned and staffed by a bunch of child killers. When the game was up they carried out a ritual suicide which caused their spirits to inhabit the mechanical fun house hosts, like you do.</p><p><br /></p><p>The robots were the best bit of the film with a good mix of creepy and exaggerated clown features with various animals and creatures depicted like a crocodile, woodland nymph and the titular Willy the stoat himself. As you’d expect the bad guys gamely line up for individual battle with Cage whilst their contemporaries take out the kids. We learn that the townsfolk lure in strangers to appease the bad guy spirits, lest they once again return to the town to seek their prey there. They should have called Cage in the first place, because as The Janitor, he quickly cleans house.</p><p><br /></p><p>I was setting up to dislike this film. The opening has a lot of fast edits and has a washed out sepia tone. The gimmick of having Cage not speaking quickly wears thin and there are a lot of awkward scenes were a line of dialogue would move things on, whereas we get Cage looking awkwardly for a way out instead. His character and motivation are wafer thin but the fight scenes are decent and brutal with no time wasted with complicated explanations or justifications. The teens could have been wearing t-shirts marked ‘Fodder’ and their fates would have been no less obvious. Down the cast you’ll recognise no one apart from the lady sheriff who has a few decent credits, but was trying too hard to channel Darlene out of ‘Ozark’ to be effective here.</p><p><br /></p><p>Overall this was a throwaway piece of nonsense that had just enough to keep me interested. The violence is fun and extreme and it demands nothing in terms of your attention or powers of deduction. The animatronics were well realised although it was clear that it was people in costumes for the fights and they weren’t as tough as invulnerable as the locals would have you believe. Guess you just need to hire the right janitor to take out the trash!</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : Need a new t-shirt</p><p>'W' Rating 15/23</p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-58647213420240601082021-12-12T18:30:00.007+00:002021-12-13T22:53:53.091+00:00No. 351 : Wrath of Man (2021)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43EKIltxPiOIX3mjeifhN2Bv9XD5FMpqI8uuTu1c53my0DicLwhgp95SUXTXERMSvt5HL6RSFHCMalVbZLSLaoSuTO_hMrLRnhH7N9ojvtDhyphenhyphenV6WZ9ewINZCiRLJ5C32Ie-79ZKC3x5Sg/s2880/wrath-of-man-2880x1040.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="2880" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43EKIltxPiOIX3mjeifhN2Bv9XD5FMpqI8uuTu1c53my0DicLwhgp95SUXTXERMSvt5HL6RSFHCMalVbZLSLaoSuTO_hMrLRnhH7N9ojvtDhyphenhyphenV6WZ9ewINZCiRLJ5C32Ie-79ZKC3x5Sg/s320/wrath-of-man-2880x1040.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11083552/?ref_=ttmi_tt" target="_blank">Wrath of Man at the IMDb</a><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>I saw a trailer for a new Guy Ritchie film starring Jason Statham, Josh Hartnett and Eddie Marsan called ‘Operation Fortune’ that looked a lot of fun. I was surprised to see it pop up on Amazon Prime, but it turned out it wasn’t the fun caper film from the trailer but a heist movie involving the same people. It’s almost like they finished one film early and decided to bash out another seeing as they had all the crew assembled. If my assumption of this cookie cutter approach is correct, one film would have to be the poorer cousin; but which one is it? It’s this one!</p><p><br /></p><p>Jason plays his usual character - bald and gruff ex-special forces with a mysterious past - who on this outing is called ‘H’ - they may have been trying for a Steps sub-plot, but it wasn’t really developed. The film opens with a heist which we see from the security van’s crew’s perspective. Something goes awry and we hear that two guards and a civilian have been shot from the police radios - remember that for later.</p><p><br /></p><p>We then meet Jason who is applying for a job at the security firm three months later. He’s told of the previous robbery and is taken through his paces by ‘Bullet’, the senior guard at the firm. Jason barely scrapes a 70% pass mark at the evaluation, but we suspect that he has more in his locker. True to form his van is soon held up, but Jason shoots up all the bad guys without drawing sweat or changing his facial expression. Company rules say that any incident involving a fatality means those involved should get a desk job, but the boss tells flunky Eddie Marsan that Jason should be promoted instead - he does have top billing, after all.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile we meet up with the troupe of bad guys run by ‘Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan. He’s getting on a bit so he gets some help from Clint junior, Scott Eastwood. Scott has a bit of a cloudy eye, so we know from the start that he’s a total psychopath. The robbers are ex-military and are keen for a big score and target Jason’s depot on Black Friday when there will be $150 million cash on hand - haven’t these people heard of credit cards?</p><p><br /></p><p>The narrative jumps back and forth in time with captions appearing regularly - at one point we are five months back and then it’s ‘3 weeks later’ from then or now? It does get a bit confusing. There are also chapter titles which define the 3 acts, which just come across as pretentious in a film with low aspirations, such as this. Just remember Jason has a soppy son he dotes on and that there’s a mole in the security network who is almost definitely the one you think it is from the start.</p><p><br /></p><p>This was a half decent offering, and if you are of mind to stick on a mindless Jason Statham film you won’t be disappointed. This isn’t one of his light-hearted efforts where he drops a couple of zingers, this is the brow furrowed and no shit taken Jason with plenty of double taps and needless blood letting.</p><p><br /></p><p>The non-linear narrative is easy enough to follow, mainly because every ‘twist’ was signposted brighter than a Christmas tree. We know Jason is on the path of vengeance - the title is your clue - and it didn’t take much mental agility to work our where he’d been wronged and who needed shooting to sort things out.</p><p><br /></p><p>The characters are all wafer thin, but it did seem pointless to kill off virtually every one of them. I know it makes the baddie a bit more ‘boo hiss’ if he kills a few people we have investment in, but sadly the investment was nil, with the interest rate even lower.</p><p><br /></p><p>Donovan had very little to do and it looked like a lot of the principals did their work in a few days when it suited their schedules. The film lacked any of the glamour or budget of what ‘Operation Fortune’ promises and clearly this effort will be seen as the runt of the litter. For a film like this to succeed you need to really care about the character and his motivation. Here Statham’s character didn’t make any sense, nor did his involvement in the initial heist. ‘We need you to tell us if the truck goes left or right’ says the mysterious overlord on the phone. Given the ambush was set up on the right it didn’t really matter what Statham called in, as that was their only chance of success anyway. Why Jason and his son stopped for a front row burrito was just illogical.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway , slice and dice it anyway you like this was an unsatisfying revenge flick that had some decent gun play and a few familiar faces looking for an easy pay day. It was competently made but totally forgettable and a lesser Statham, if there is such a thing.</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : Jason drops his burritos ‘W’ Rating : 10/23</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-64382473519506264822021-01-09T23:56:00.003+00:002021-01-10T00:00:52.453+00:00No.350 : Wildlife (2018) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLSsf9jyQe2EUrWDXW8MqXy-B-oF44GHdEdQ6NzIxyQQhyphenhyphenAjjbubBabxcsdslpCzNTXlOwdvJstjqHmBzKxZtRTQcvkFUVaNH4NZOSZ-DcBYd_xGt13ikWL33HhyphenhyphenFoKlDfZecoHbPOSb7/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLSsf9jyQe2EUrWDXW8MqXy-B-oF44GHdEdQ6NzIxyQQhyphenhyphenAjjbubBabxcsdslpCzNTXlOwdvJstjqHmBzKxZtRTQcvkFUVaNH4NZOSZ-DcBYd_xGt13ikWL33HhyphenhyphenFoKlDfZecoHbPOSb7/" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5929754/" target="_blank">Wildlife at the IMDb</a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It’s Montana in 1960 and all is not going well with Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan’s marriage. They are Jerry and Jeanette and they have a teenage son Joe. Clearly the writer got stuck on the ’J’s page in his ’name your character’ book.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Wild forest fires are burning across the state meaning the air quality is poor and the kids are receiving fire training. Jerry works at a golf course but is quickly dismissed, with Joe present, for gambling with the guests. We learn he has trouble keeping jobs, meaning that the family is always on the move.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">We see him with a couple of beers, so it’s clear he’s immediately become an inveterate drunk. He refuses menial jobs, meaning that Jeanette has to get a job teaching swimming and Joe one after school at a photography studio. He’s happy to do this as it means he doesn’t have to play football which he dislikes but his father expects.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Jerry has a few breakdowns and speeches Willy Loman style, and rashly accepts a dangerous, low paid, job putting out the fires. Jeanette is aghast at first but soon starts to act up and walking out with an older, wealthier man whom she met when she taught him to swim. She takes Joe to meet him and the boy sees him giving Mom a special goodnight kiss. He also sees his ass when he stops over one night.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Joe develops a friendship with a girl classmate, but when Jerry returns and Jeanette announces she’s leaving, he has to witness the final throes of their marriage. What can be salvaged from the wreckage? And will Joe be scarred by the messy break-up of his parents?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This film started out well and for the first half hour I was quite engaged. Gyllenhaal is always watchable and the film suffers when he exits stage left for the middle third. His struggles with authority and keeping a job were interesting and it’s a shame his character wasn’t developed more. Instead the main focus was on their son Joe who, although well played by Ed Oxenbould (see <a href="https://thedefinitearticlemovies.blogspot.com/2020/01/no158-visit.html" target="_blank">The Visit</a>), he was a bit dull. Part of his character was that he was a late developer, but he spent a lot of the film staring with a quivering bottom lip.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I think the idea was that he was powerless to intervene as his parents' marriage and, by proxy, his life disintegrated. The raging fires were a strong metaphor and it was no surprise when erstwhile fire-fighter Jerry became a crazy fire starter when trying to sort out his problems.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I didn’t buy into Jeanette’s character arc, who went from doting Mom to drunk floozy almost overnight. Of course she was responding to Jerry’s recklessness in taking the fire fighting job but it didn’t ring true that she’s have the ancient Warren in her bed, with her son in the house, mere days after Jerry left the scene. Mulligan was decent as Jeanette and carried the 60’s fashions well but she was poorly served by lazy writing and unbelievable character developments.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The film has a kind of coda at the end where Mom comes back for a visit and the family is briefly reunited. This didn’t really resolve any issues but at least they got the photo for the poster.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Overall this was a decent period examination of a failed marriage but it was ultimately unsatisfying and more than a little dull.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Best Bit : Dinner at Warren’s ‘W’ Rating 12/23</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><p><br /> </p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-50423704460558074422021-01-07T00:26:00.001+00:002021-01-07T00:26:29.401+00:00No.349 : Welcome to Marwen (2018) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzWd305EDYV_-44E_7KkeKGRjabqBCmvsPZqft8T4JC0TJ1KhKW2ysvDzUETzIwg07L6ibTEADg3eDc693MNswG1rPiaMqtBOQR2qC1fKVt7fc8ufX-ouUIBeScSAbnLVbATTOUuFpXd9/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzWd305EDYV_-44E_7KkeKGRjabqBCmvsPZqft8T4JC0TJ1KhKW2ysvDzUETzIwg07L6ibTEADg3eDc693MNswG1rPiaMqtBOQR2qC1fKVt7fc8ufX-ouUIBeScSAbnLVbATTOUuFpXd9/" width="163" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3289724/" target="_blank">Welcome to Marwen at the IMDb</a><br /></p><p>It’s strange how you don’t review any films about a person living a fantasy life and then two come along at once. Our previous effort ‘Who You Think I Am’ concerned a woman inventing an online personality, this one is about a man who invents a whole world so that he can escape his demons.</p><p><br /></p><p>I was surprised when this film was offered up on Netflix as I’d never heard of it before despite being a fan of its star, Steve Carell. It’s also directed by ‘Back to the Future’ helmer Robert Zemeckis so it seemed strange that it wasn’t better known, by me at least.</p><p><br /></p><p>Having seen the film it’s easy to see why the film sunk without trace at the box office. There is a lot to like, but tonally it’s a mess and there are long scenes that are difficult to watch through embarrassment, awkwardness or just plain boredom.</p><p><br /></p><p>The film is based on a true story of an artist named Mark who was severely beaten by a gang of yobbos who didn’t like his proclivity of wearing hi-heels. He loses his memory and ability to draw and relies on friends and a carer to get through the day. He also retreats into a fantasy world where he becomes his action figure ‘Hogie’ and fights the Nazis in his own model town of Marwen.</p><p><br /></p><p>The film goes into complete ‘Toy Story’ mode to show Hogie’s adventures which mirror the events of Mark’s own life. His attackers are the Nazis and his troupe of lady resistance fighters are his friends and a favourite porn star.</p><p><br /></p><p>Mark’s attackers are due to be sentenced and Mark has to speak at their sentencing hearing to ensure the impact they caused on his life is recognised and they receive the appropriate jail time. He also has an upcoming show for the photos he takes of his models, with both events adding to his stress. Things look up however when a new neighbour, Nicol, moves in and takes an interest in Mark’s hobby.</p><p><br /></p><p>Will he find peace and love and can Hogie defeat both the Nazis and the Belgian witch who haunts his endeavours?</p><p><br /></p><p>This was a worthy film that showed the bravery of the main character in surmounting the obstacles placed before him. I can’t say I enjoyed it though. The narrative device of having the toys acting out World War 2 scenes that ran parallel with Mark’s own life was misjudged and took you in and out of the real story with monotonous regularity.</p><p><br /></p><p>The animation was excellent, with the real cast being morphed into their action figure avatars. I liked how things like the buttons and zips being too big for the tiny clothes were shown along with their articulated joints. The toys scenes went on too long for me, with a time travel episode lasting ten minutes during which my attention waned. I think you need to have either a kids’ film or a moving redemption drama - to have both squeezed into one film made it a hard watch.</p><p><br /></p><p>Carell was good, not ‘Foxcatcher’ good, but he did well with difficult material. He must have thought another Oscar nomination was in the offing when he got the script for a brain damaged transvestite, but unfortunately his turn wasn’t enough to keep all the plates spinning. For your money you also get a single scene with ‘Russian carer’ Brienne of Tarth who was dreadful, and the chubby nurse off ‘Nurse Jackie’ who was the chubby friend.</p><p><br /></p><p>There were good sequences in the film and it was a triumph of the human spirit that deserved to be told. Some scenes were very difficult to endure however, like when Mark had his breakdowns or proposed marriage and there was constant yelling and screaming to endure.</p><p><br /></p><p>It must have been a hard film to market with the opening animated sequence having a couple of swears so that we knew that this wasn’t for the kids. I’m not sure who it was for really, as it covers a few genres but doesn’t really succeed in any.</p><p><br /></p><p>A brave effort, but not something I’d recommend or consider as entertainment.</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : Trial Speech ‘W’ Rating 10/23</p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-35425008478980898782021-01-05T19:00:00.001+00:002021-01-06T11:23:54.117+00:00No.348 : Who You Think I Am (2019) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj086W4C7z5GZhF56fvhHytzpV9wxI7__RFhCeycqVoD2kTbHcyPysWVlhFO88lVRxYU4qkCcyXyvVwffYaJ7pXej0JnYELv1johB356NhYmwVCyPoUrHr06yRzYgnM-1Tv-PE27cKIFt-s/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj086W4C7z5GZhF56fvhHytzpV9wxI7__RFhCeycqVoD2kTbHcyPysWVlhFO88lVRxYU4qkCcyXyvVwffYaJ7pXej0JnYELv1johB356NhYmwVCyPoUrHr06yRzYgnM-1Tv-PE27cKIFt-s/" width="163" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7552686/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_6" target="_blank">Who You Think I Am at the IMDb</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><div>Juliette Binoche plays Claire in this French drama, a lady who is as nutty as squirrel shit.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>We meet Claire as she is engaging with her new therapist. She’s frustrated that her former analyst has suffered a stroke meaning that she has to recap her story, the one that brought her under psychiatric care. This helps us as the story mostly unfolds in flashback, with it beginning as the 50 year old lecturer is having quite the jolly time with her younger boyfriend. He’s not too keen however and the relationship is clearly floundering. Claire lives alone, sharing custody of her two boys with her ex-husband who left her for a younger woman.</div><div><br /></div><div>Claire starts to nosey through her boyfriend’s Facebook on the sly, having gained backdoor access by befriending some of his friends. She casually likes a few photos taken by one such friend and the two start to chat when he thanks her for her approval. Claire enjoys the flirty chat and starts to pose as ‘Clara’, using photos she finds on the net to promote her younger alter ego.</div><div><br /></div><div>The online relationship starts to blossom and Claire barely notices when her boyfriend leaves her. She starts a Facebook page for Clara and uses her son’s old mobile for contact. Her new beau, Alex, is keen for a meet up but for obvious reasons Claire has to keep him at arms length. At one point the two almost meet when their GPS signals match up but Alex looks straight through Claire as he forlornly seeks out Clara.</div><div><br /></div><div>Things start to get messy when Claire neglects her kids and starts to act out at work and in her car, egged on by her would be lover’s dirty talk. Eventually she runs out of excuses and tells Alex of her fictitious lover and their plans to move to Brazil. It looks like an innocent flirtation has resolved without issue - apart from her being a total timewaster - but why is she seeing a psychologist?</div><div><br /></div><div>Things take a darker turn when her ex-boyfriend later tells her that Alex has killed himself over some woman he never met on Facebook. Claire is devastated but presents her doctor with a new book she has written that charts how the relationship could have worked out. We see this enacted in full as the pair enjoy a whirlwind romance - can we know what is real, what is imagined and what is the state of Claire’s mind?</div><div><br /></div><div>I really enjoyed this film with its attractive cast, excellent direction and clever narrative. It could have been boring with a lot of the story relayed by phone calls and texts but it zipped along and kept me guessing. I enjoyed the French dialogue and feel that subtitles help you stay immersed in a film as you aren’t distracted by your phone and the like, as you need to keep reading what is on the screen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Binoche is excellent as Claire - she is super sexy and a lot like Elaine out of ‘Seinfeld’. In some ways she was too pretty, as it would be a different film if she was a fatty with a bad complexion. As it was, Alex would have jumped at the chance of a date with Claire, had she come clean.</div><div><br /></div><div>My guesses at the outcome were all undone by a few neat twists and, although we never doubted that Claire had issues, it was interesting to see her fantasy played out and her reactions to the twists she experienced herself.</div><div><br /></div><div>Things like online romances and age gap relationships were explored in intimate detail and there was plenty of food for thought. The cast were all excellent and I think the story suited the Parisian location were romance and flirting seemed natural and cool - set this in Glasgow and it’s just a crazed stalker with a SIM card.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall an excellent and moving piece of work that has a lot to say about our society, addiction to mobile devices and the age old quest to be loved.</div><div><br /></div><div>Get it on Netflix right now.</div><div><br /></div><div>Best Bit : Who’s Phone is That Ringing? ‘W’ Rating : 20/23</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-21826682502259583862021-01-04T13:00:00.003+00:002022-05-28T17:39:38.124+01:00No.347 : Wild Rose (2018) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvh8Dh9MwBzoNMHeb6168uqhfFkvNsicA_rOIMIhCMn5hMQpX6eKaXGqMHX7flkeeh9ZNw2SIviWUmGRp3EUbBMp-a6tRasoaxyB3XdJyLIMRWpViiSf5CaR2Fz5goKHJJm5I9QZvdXM1/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvh8Dh9MwBzoNMHeb6168uqhfFkvNsicA_rOIMIhCMn5hMQpX6eKaXGqMHX7flkeeh9ZNw2SIviWUmGRp3EUbBMp-a6tRasoaxyB3XdJyLIMRWpViiSf5CaR2Fz5goKHJJm5I9QZvdXM1/" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5117428/" target="_blank">Wild Rose at the IMDb</a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Off to the sunny climes of Glasgow now, as we witness one woman’s struggle to become a top country singer - don’t say ‘country & western’, that’s a no no.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The ‘Rose' of the title is Rose-Lynn a young Glasgow girl who, when the film starts, is being released from a one year sentence in prison that she received for smuggling drugs. She’s escorted out by Stevie the Bookie, and heads home on the bus as the opening credits roll, against an endless backdrop of country music. If you don’t like country music this is one to avoid, as it’s wall to wall.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">She meets up with, and pumps, her old boyfriend before heading home to her mother's, Mrs Overall, who has been looking after her young children for her. She still harbours an ambition to be a country singer and heads back to reclaim her job at Glasgow’s Grand Old Opry. This goes poorly, partly because someone else has her job and partly due to Janie Godley being the barmaid.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Rose-Lynn has to wear a tag which inhibits her plans to be a club singer so she gets a job at a fancy house as a cleaner and befriends the owner, Susannah. Susannah is a classy lady who married a boy made good from Clydebank. Despite her constant swearing she takes to Rose-Lynn despite the hammering her booze takes when she’s out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Susannah’s connections in the media get Rose-Lynn a meeting with Radio 2’s Bob Harris who shows what a good DJ he is when he tries to act. He tells Rose-Lynn that she’ll need to write her own songs to be a success, but Rose-Lynn thinks if she can get to Nashville things will all be OK.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Things look up when she wins her appeal against being tagged and Susannah offers to sponsor her trip to the States. Trouble looms however as Susannah’s husband uncovers Rose-Lynn’s past and her ability to screw up every opportunity presented to her looms large. Can she get to Nashville and will this be the key to success that she imagines?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I quite liked this film but it suffered due to Rose-Lynn’s character. I get that she was meant to be a free spirit but her selfishness and rudeness throughout was a turn off for me. I know this was a path to her ultimate redemption but it was cringey to see all the people trying to help her only to be let down by Rose-Lynn’s tunnel vision ambition and lack of empathy. She was well played by Jessie Buckley, who certainly can sing, bit I had no investment in the character who was a serial waster.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It’s probably true that she was just immature but her realisation towards the end about what was important and what was her ultimate redemption seemed totally unearned.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The film was well made with the grimmer sides of Glasgow well realised, as were the more affluent. Mrs Overall did a passable Scottish accent and a few of the Glasgow characters, many of whom were never actors, added a bit of colour and realism.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The endless country ballads were a bit off-putting for me but if you like that sort of music, then is is one for you. The character’s miserable existence sprinkled with some hope for the future was like a 100 minute country song in itself and if that appeals then you, then you should fill your cowboy boots.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Best Bit : Opry Finale ‘W’ Rating : 14/23</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><p><br /> </p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-7185766928842245762021-01-02T09:15:00.001+00:002021-01-02T09:15:26.120+00:00No.346 : Women’s Prison Massacre (1983)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif-GjiHZfDzGZUV173M15ACXOjSQ1Q6SKK-NQNO9IBeiyYBhhd5Xqz8RUyBJo7fyU5mcVR8SeM3dueHzo9eG3B_6PtBw25jeHzY7R5gm2rYmEo-F9acYYEDlq4KVevmpipXbN0JWvN4oJL/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif-GjiHZfDzGZUV173M15ACXOjSQ1Q6SKK-NQNO9IBeiyYBhhd5Xqz8RUyBJo7fyU5mcVR8SeM3dueHzo9eG3B_6PtBw25jeHzY7R5gm2rYmEo-F9acYYEDlq4KVevmpipXbN0JWvN4oJL/" width="163" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085250/" target="_blank">Women's Prison Massacre at the IMDb</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div>The IMDb title page for this film gives it a possessive apostrophe but the poster and title card do not. The original intent may have been for it to be a plural and not a possessive, but it’s probably not important given that the likely viewers of this sleazy trash will be more concerned with the boob quotient rather than correct punctuation. Why can’t we have both though?</div><div><div><br /></div><div>This Italian relic dates from 1983 and appears to be part of the ‘Black Emmanuelle’ franchise. This is not explicit however (unlike the film) as although we have the same actress and a character called Emmanuelle, there isn’t any continuity with the previous films…er, as I’ve been led to understand. Maybe they wanted this as a standalone epic or they couldn’t get the rights. Either way it is a terrible exploitation film with blood and boobs served up in equal measure.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film opens with three ladies delivering monologues to an audience of prisoners. It’s not clear where we are but it looks like it’s meant to be Mexico given the policemen dress like ice cream salesmen. Anyway the play doesn’t go down well, with Emmanuelle getting particularly bad reviews from head bitch Albina, who is possibly so named as she’s a bit pale.</div><div><br /></div><div>We learn that Emmanuelle has been falsely imprisoned by a corrupt DA who will stop at nothing to silence her. Meanwhile four notorious murders, Led by ‘Crazy Boy’ have been captured. The DA has the great plan to house them at the women’s prison before their executions. It’s not made clear, and it’s certainly not conveyed to the bad guys, but it seems like the DA hopes the baddies will kill Emmanuelle when they inevitably escape. This plan is very weak, mainly because our villains know nothing about it or have anything to gain from it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The four worst criminals in the country are transported in a single van along some desert back roads. The guards manage to avoid a fake road block when the wise one catches the doppelgangers out, but after a low rent chase the baddies are out and our wise bearded friend is likely to be dead given he's taken a point blank shotgun blast he took to the chest.</div><div><br /></div><div>Actually he miraculously survives, and our clichéd quartet of baddies, including a sadistic German one, pitch up at the prison and kill all the guards. The police hang back letting each of the men carry out their fantasies against the female prisoners - some of whom are willing, others less so.</div><div><br /></div><div>Various atrocities take place including a game of Russian roulette, which sees a tin of tomato soup thrown in the lead baddie’s face, before our guys make their break for freedom. They want $5m and a car and are taking Emmanuelle and the lady governor as hostages. Can it end well? Doubtful, given the rest was a load of nonsense!</div><div><br /></div><div>This was a really tacky film that for some reason Amazon Prime suggested I may be interested in. What a clever algorithm that has detected, through my viewing habits, that I like ‘W’ initialled films. </div><div><br /></div><div>You can’t slag this effort off too much, as it pretty much delivers what you’d expect given the title, cast and premise. Emmanuelle was strangely shy in the cut I saw, but the other inmates redressed the balance with several full on displays of love behind bars. The inflatable man wasn’t necessary however.</div><div><br /></div><div>The dubbing was terrible as was the dialogue - maybe ‘I want to cut your nipples off’ was lost in translation. The plot was wafer thin, but even then it didn’t make sense. The whole plan seemed to be to get some men in a woman’s prison for an hour, have them behave badly, before a shoot out at the end. You can’t say they didn’t deliver on that.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you seek this film out expecting trashy rubbish with a lot of blood and nudity you won't be disappointed. If you want anything else, then you will be.</div><div><br /></div><div>Best Bit : Toilet Block Punishment ‘W’ Rating : 11/23</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-41928650192781206942021-01-01T01:58:00.001+00:002021-01-01T01:58:14.875+00:00No.345 : We Belong Together (2018) <p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttUyD4JJGGkZKWLLwdA9J1sM3tsNNBr0QMEclwsKzDD8eVIN7TLNt2YwCA_t58nplk2l_Ja5S1eIg9kiP8zBm3SzGPstC8k2Pe2EJs9w2bMu_V99TQBrTwldJPwXTw4miTv-hkj9BylgF/s268/MV5BMjk1M2QwZWUtNDZjMS00ZWQ2LTg1NzEtMDc4YThjYTNlMjNjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjQzNzk4OTg%2540._V1_UX182_CR0%252C0%252C182%252C268_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttUyD4JJGGkZKWLLwdA9J1sM3tsNNBr0QMEclwsKzDD8eVIN7TLNt2YwCA_t58nplk2l_Ja5S1eIg9kiP8zBm3SzGPstC8k2Pe2EJs9w2bMu_V99TQBrTwldJPwXTw4miTv-hkj9BylgF/s0/MV5BMjk1M2QwZWUtNDZjMS00ZWQ2LTg1NzEtMDc4YThjYTNlMjNjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjQzNzk4OTg%2540._V1_UX182_CR0%252C0%252C182%252C268_AL_.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8417466/" target="_blank">We Belong Together at the IMDb</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div>Fatal Attraction rehash time now, as a recently sober college professor makes the mistake of falling for a student who happens to be a mentalist.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>We meet our hero Thomas as he’s being awarded his 90 day chip at his AA meeting. We learn that his drinking caused him to separate from his wife and children but his new found sobriety has opened up the prospect of a reconciliation. He is allowed access to his kids and is slowly winning back his wife who has now moved in with her mother.</div><div><br /></div><div>Trouble is just around the corner however in the shape of Tracy, a 26 year old stunner with a military background who has signed up for his classes. He finds her a job in a diner and is soon subject to some pretty full on flirting from his sexy student. An early chat is interrupted by his assistant but she is soon beaten up and chucked over a balcony by a mystery assailant - could it be our mad stalker?</div><div><br /></div><div>Thomas tries to act all professional but quickly folds when Tracy shows him her bra. The pair then have a really tame sex montage with Tracy keeping the sheets tightly wrapped to her body. Maybe she has a big mole or they’re after a PG rating?</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Thomas tries to make inroads with his family whilst being increasingly alarmed by his new squeeze’s behaviour. Is she nuts and the killer or is that just what they want us to think? Details of a troubled past are sprinkled liberally about with her character not being developed as much as it is exploded like a Claymore mine. She undoes our man’s sobriety and gets off her meds - we know this isn’t going to end well. Well, it didn’t start well so that’s a fair assumption.</div><div><br /></div><div>Given the title of the film it’s not hard to guess that we are dealing with an obsessive here - but is it the one we think or is she a victim herself of PTSD and of lazy writing? Dreya Michele wasn’t convincing in the lead and seemed a bit shy for a supposed sexual psycho predator. She is attractive but didn’t convince as a 26 year old - she was 33 at the time of filming. The levels of obsession and nuttiness were well done with every man no doubt flinching each time Thomas got a raft of increasingly manic voicemails.</div><div><br /></div><div>Soon the ex-wife is injured in an off screen accident and in a coma - who could be causing all of this misfortune to the women in Thomas’ life? It can’t be that obvious, can it? Thomas tries to end the relationship and after an hour we hear the title of the film. How far will the obsession go and who will survive the fallout?</div><div><br /></div><div>This was a decent offering but it was very by the numbers. From the off we knew the girlfriend was going to be crazy and she was. I was hoping for a bit of misdirection or even a small wrong foot but instead the film went from A to B to C without even a sideways glance.</div><div><br /></div><div>I didn’t have much invested in the pissed up professor and his troubled times were more funny and inevitable than concerning. It was the standard ‘led by his dick’ male getting his comeuppance with little added in the way of colour or invention. As Thomas’ life fell apart we were meant to marvel at the elaborate scheming in play but it really was just a mad woman behaving badly before her inevitable demise so all the men can return to Tinder without worrying of the consequences. Apart from VD.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film was 80 minutes and well enough made and paced that it never became an unwelcome distraction, but overall there isn’t anything you haven’t seen before and done better. The finale does leave open the possibility of a sequel so maybe don’t open that Bumble app just yet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Best Bit : I’ve got a surprise for you! ‘W’ Rating 13/23</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><p></p><p><br /></p><br /> <p></p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-48762140673764936702020-12-28T13:17:00.004+00:002020-12-28T13:18:43.562+00:00No.344 : West of Hell (2018)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqv-T_mX8Pqu76bjn85g-0nLiYFkizmNIXAeNou41n6WsPNvuCNvy0LBMMPO3_BSqGHAQY2Z6MSjE4CJSXXuXiyPbD9rPWV3zI5zoBZqKif4KzkVqjMOvxZH2_rZBmpSxnM8L1mriRA0Vp/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="517" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqv-T_mX8Pqu76bjn85g-0nLiYFkizmNIXAeNou41n6WsPNvuCNvy0LBMMPO3_BSqGHAQY2Z6MSjE4CJSXXuXiyPbD9rPWV3zI5zoBZqKif4KzkVqjMOvxZH2_rZBmpSxnM8L1mriRA0Vp/" width="164" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4287470/" target="_blank">West of Hell at the IMDb</a><br /></div> <p></p><p>All aboard Rick & Morty’s Story Train for this trip to Disappointment with stops at Nonsensical Parkway, Confusion Central and bypassing Narrative Structure and Illumination Broadway.</p><p><br /></p><p>We set off on a midnight train to Atlanta. At first it seems like a regular train with a bunch of murderous and mysterious characters, but there is more afoot that initially meets the eye. The train carriages themselves are set up like well appointed drawing rooms so that’s probably your first clue that things are not what they seem - there are no discarded copies of ‘Metro’ lying around and Baz hasn’t tagged the entire carriage.</p><p><br /></p><p>We meet Jericho, who in another life was ‘Candyman’. He’s an ex-slave on a mission to kill all former slave owners and their first born children. One such child who is on-board is Annie, who has engaged the bodyguard services of ex-civil war soldier Roland. Candyman and Ro-land come to blows early on, but retreat to different carriages when things don’t go to plan - bullets don’t seem to be working for some reason.</p><p><br /></p><p>We meet some other passengers, such as one chap who has a penchant for strangling prostitutes and another lady who has her ex-slave employed as her maid. They all have a past to hide but secrets are slowly revealed when they are joined by a shape shifter. As you have probably guessed things moved away from a conventional western when this chap appears, and employs ropey special effects to become each of our character’s dark secret.</p><p><br /></p><p>After their pasts are laid bare the gang decide that the train they are on is on its way to Hell. Is there anything they can do to save their souls? Well, Lance Henriksen is in the last carriage and given he’s the Devil there may be some deals to be done…</p><p><br /></p><p>This wasn’t a terrible film but it doesn’t have much to recommend it either. The production values were pretty low despite a couple of familiar faces such as the ‘jump to conclusions’ guy out of ‘Office Space’ making a brief appearance complete with unconvincing diabolical laughter. The lighting was poor in places with it hard to make out the action, and one character, who has a bag over his head, is virtually unintelligible. </p><p><br /></p><p>From the start I thought the twist was that they were on the road (tracks) to Hell and this proved correct - to be fair they didn’t really dress it up as anything else, so it wasn’t even a surprise never mind a twist. Lance was a pretty laid back Devil and offered little in the way of menace. As is standard, he offered the characters deals to get out of their predicament - terrible, lop sided deals! We did get a chance to see some of our characters in flashback and were able to decide for ourselves who was worthy of the visit to the flames and who was a victim of circumstance. Some were evil and went down that path whilst others made noble sacrifices having come to terms with their crimes. There were no real surprises in anyone’s arc with redemption liberally sprinkled about whilst the real baddies got their just desserts.</p><p><br /></p><p>There were a couple of decent ideas in play, but the film was limited by its scope and budget. The Devil must have better things to do with his time as did Lance who clearly only spared half a day for the production.</p><p><br /></p><p>The film only lasts about 80 minutes and the story would have been better used as an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone’ or the like rather than a half baked full feature.</p><p><br /></p><p>You will see a lot worse and there was enough to garner half marks although that hooded guy, whose dialogue I couldn’t make out a word of, cost them a chunk on his own. Overall it’s not a train to catch but if you find yourself on-board, you may as well stay on for the predictable and undemanding conclusion.</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : What’s this noose doing here? 'W' Rating 12/23</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-55705220477195754762020-12-21T00:30:00.006+00:002020-12-21T18:19:48.918+00:00No.343 : What We Wanted (2020) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZ1fwMdlU8nMHLRXmBDMtyIQd6abeGZ45bApU5mBjjji7hjsDx6uvI7SBvmHDReJBKPSF8kzMAw3X2AM24teNFEFv-DpLdyh-qSkzjNdFxWsdEBjGZQ44Z5Lt98H46Rps7UZp7FGxfFxe/s275/what+we+wanted.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZ1fwMdlU8nMHLRXmBDMtyIQd6abeGZ45bApU5mBjjji7hjsDx6uvI7SBvmHDReJBKPSF8kzMAw3X2AM24teNFEFv-DpLdyh-qSkzjNdFxWsdEBjGZQ44Z5Lt98H46Rps7UZp7FGxfFxe/s0/what+we+wanted.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13279528/" target="_blank">What We Wanted at the IMDb</a><br /></div><p></p><p>Time for another session of Alan Partridge’s ‘Problem People’ as we spend 90 minutes in the company of Austrian couple Alice and Niklas. As we meet them they are receiving bad news from their fertility clinic. Their fourth and final state sponsored session of treatment has failed and they have to face the prospect of remaining childless.</p><p><br /></p><p>Their therapist suggests a trip away to recharge their batteries and so they set off for Sardinia, despite being in the midst of a large building project at their home. Their prickly chat over directions suggest all is not well and their fully loaded credit cards imply they have money issues also.</p><p><br /></p><p>They arrive at the Italian resort, but their quiet time is quickly interrupted by an Irish family and their screaming daughter and emo son. They try to move apartments but politeness means they stay and slowly get to know their neighbours - and experience the highs and lows of having children.</p><p><br /></p><p>The young daughter speaks stark truths through her innocence and the son’s issues make our couple wonder if kids are worth the trouble. The Irish man isn’t shy about flaunting his wealth and his younger wife spouts a lot of horoscope nonsense which hits surprisingly close to home.</p><p><br /></p><p>All the while our couples’ relationship is crumbling and home truths and long buried resentments are aired in private and soon in public. Will a potential tragedy show them the error of their ways or are they conditioned to accept their miserable and emotion free existence?</p><p><br /></p><p>This film wasn’t as grim as my summary suggests, but it’s certainly one to watch with your partner unless you want to be examined over every remark and action in your last 20 years. The lead couple are good independently of each other but I didn’t think they were a great match. They were like an Austrian (actually German) Tilda Swinton and Mark Ruffalo and they didn’t seem to have much of a spark. I guess that was the point given their floundering relationship, with the partnership seeming somewhat uneven.</p><p><br /></p><p>Small snippets of their past are peppered throughout and although the big revelation wasn’t a total surprise, at least it had been earned given what had gone before. The little girl, Denise, was a real cutie and she was a good device for getting to the heart of things that the adults would skip around. The sub plot with the overbearing Dad and emo son was less well developed and the impact of the big finale was a bit underwhelming.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was nice to spend 90 minutes in sunny Italy in the company of some good looking people - it was just a pity they were all a bit needy and didn’t leave their troubles at home. There was a lot of metaphor and symbolism flying around and I’m sure a lot of big points were being made, but for the most part it did look a lot like privileged people having a hard time of their own making.</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : Pool Night ‘W’ Rating : 15/23</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-75354533344848090812020-12-20T19:27:00.001+00:002020-12-20T19:34:27.766+00:00No.342 : Wicked Spring (2002) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNyW0EBqSZIzJi0dxUVQ9gJyiginwVit-Gfd2LlwcAt15c0iPc70-BdcvJmmvcnFuhOyk4lhP0MgCi_Dkp0xs8wWRx0pBWbz0zeK1Ajp9LPvSyHchJma8SCS4KOzwcz5jPdvar1sxg7ah/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="630" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNyW0EBqSZIzJi0dxUVQ9gJyiginwVit-Gfd2LlwcAt15c0iPc70-BdcvJmmvcnFuhOyk4lhP0MgCi_Dkp0xs8wWRx0pBWbz0zeK1Ajp9LPvSyHchJma8SCS4KOzwcz5jPdvar1sxg7ah/" width="126" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235048/" target="_blank">Wicked Spring at the IMDb</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div>The American Civil War lasted for about four years - this film felt slightly longer.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>We open in 1861 with a long and meandering introduction to our characters. It is the golden time before the war, and we are treated to bucolic scenes of the harvest and people courting. We know it can’t last and are eventually transported to a battle in 1863 where the Blues and the Greys are facing off, in a small scale battle, in some woods.</div><div><br /></div><div>The battle scene is the highlight of the film but it does highlight the small budget that is in play, with the 20 odd soldiers, who comprise each army, struggling to make the scene look epic. It looks daft that they are all crammed together to try and show scale as it’s clear that they would have fought better by spreading out a bit.</div><div><br /></div><div>The battle isn’t well choreographed with at times it being unclear who is shooting who. This may be deliberate to show the horrors of war, but for me it just looked a bit unfocused and messy. There were several kills with the actors being shown to be hit many times from different angles in slow motion. This was a strange choice by the director as it took you out of the moment and made the thing look like a rap video.</div><div><br /></div><div>With one side routed the soldiers flee into the woods and are detached from their units. Our main hero, Harrison, is with another soldier and they meet up with four others and set up a camp. Over an never-ending night the men share stories and food and we learn that Harrison hasn’t read any of the letters he received from his sweetheart, as he doesn’t read too good and that.</div><div><br /></div><div>His new friend reads all his letters for him and sadly there’s no juicy stuff. There is however plenty of violin music accompanying the endless letter reading so we have that at least. I was expecting a bit more during this section to be honest, but maybe I just missed what was happening in the dark. “I can’t see a damn thing!“ someone exclaims at one point - I hear you brother, but obviously I can’t see you.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next morning Harrison is awoken by a kick to the ribs. The nasty one with the medical background has discovered that the soldiers are from different sides and decides to take those from his enemy prisoner, so that he can return to his lines without being branded a deserter. A great plan, but one that quickly flounders as the upper hand switches back and forth between the two sides.</div><div><br /></div><div>Who will win the day? And will the night of bonding help heal the schism between the two groups and across America as a whole? Probably not, as the battle is still raging and those extras seem keen to get home…</div><div><br /></div><div>This was an awful film that looked like some Civil War re-enactor’s pet project that somehow found its way onto Amazon Prime. Fair enough it was based on a true incident, but one thing this effort will teach you is that not all true events are deserving of being recreated. There probably was a decent story in here to be fair, but the execution was just plain awful.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was expecting some great revelation or horror, but in the end it was the old 'futility of war' message rote large for no entertainment or learning benefit whatsoever.</div><div><br /></div><div>It didn’t look like there was a profession actor on show at all, which is fair enough as they also dispensed with a writer, editor and director too! Some scenes rambled on forever with the fireside letter reading section taking up an inordinate amount of the film for zero benefit whatsoever. You may say it built up Harrison’s character but alas there was none to begin with and all this added was that he couldn’t read.</div><div><br /></div><div>The attempts at healing the divides were ham-fisted as was the conclusion which basically shouted ‘That’s the budget done, bring back the re-enacting guys’. Overall this was a painful watch and it’s just a pity Lincoln isn’t about to free this guff from my consciousness.</div><div><br /></div><div>Best Bit : Opening Battle Scenes - ‘W’ Rating : 8/23</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-23591889239505101642020-12-09T21:20:00.001+00:002020-12-09T21:21:20.873+00:00No.341 : Warrior Queen (1987) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAD4ojOKryGV9IXPBQFQ6Xzqi2fqxGmQl8eGGHXDn9IAXh1eNM2lTFxd5kreGdwCt2FjAYw6-8lHnY8ksXMe0hso0dfiWEJyFw6dAmQ7xOHnhEn2LrHynyBx6iH2uEh9pOCbQhV1VZDnue/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="630" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAD4ojOKryGV9IXPBQFQ6Xzqi2fqxGmQl8eGGHXDn9IAXh1eNM2lTFxd5kreGdwCt2FjAYw6-8lHnY8ksXMe0hso0dfiWEJyFw6dAmQ7xOHnhEn2LrHynyBx6iH2uEh9pOCbQhV1VZDnue/" width="126" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094298/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_17" target="_blank">Warrior Queen at the IMDb</a><br /></div><p><br /></p><p></p><p>Time to class things up here with this historical drama which charts the last days of Pompeii. OK, the Frankie Howerd version may have been more accurate and had better sets, but this has Sybil Danning and a man being killed with a Frisbee.</p><p><br /></p><p>We open with Sybil arriving in town in a small bandwagon. They are attacked by some brigands who quickly see off her soldier escort. They didn’t bargain on Sybil however, as she manages to kill three of them without breaking a sweat or looking a bit interested.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile in town, the slave auction is in full swing and the director wastes no time in setting out his stall for his target audience. Let’s just say the bidders insist on a full inspection of the goods.</p><p><br /></p><p>A ‘Ben Hur’ wannabe shows up and has a bit of a scrap with a non copyright ‘Hercules’ and Donald Pleasence takes the pay cheque as Emporer Clodius who fawns over Sybil a lot and does little else. The plot here is as thin as the slave girls’ tops but essentially we get a few days ‘slice of life’ entertainment before Vesuvius blows its top in magical stock footage fashion.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sybil’s motivations aren’t clear but she does befriend one slave girl and takes a necklace off her and gives it back at the end. I guess she’s meant to be some sort of emancipation figure but she hardly has any lines and zero character development. Ben Hur and the slave girl we follow have a small romance arc that sees him killing folk in the arena whilst she gets raped in the woods. They all come through it unscathed, although the same can’t be said for their wardrobes.</p><p><br /></p><p>There isn’t any real social commentary here with the elaborate fighting games and freely available sex doubtless meant to signal that this society was too bloated and due a bit of cleansing. Some of the exposition may have been lost in the 68 minute cut I saw on Amazon prime, but I doubt it. This was a ‘Caligula’ type soft porn with history used to dress up a bit of smut. Alas the production values were not matched with stock footage obtrusively appearing for the crowd and eruption scenes, and many of the sets looking distinctly wobbly despite the Rome locations.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is just short enough to not be a total waste of time as you will get a couple of cheezy laughs and some titillation for your hour long investment. Don’t be basing your thesis on it though, unless its titled ‘Crappy & Inaccurate Boob Fests I Have Seen’.</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : I bid 1000 Sesterti! ‘W’ Rating 8/23</p><p><br /></p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-1355140230058716382020-12-04T23:29:00.001+00:002020-12-04T23:29:15.802+00:00No.340 : Wonder Wheel (2017) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4lAusYbPLPRzNlDy1Cqdx5Zo0Zw3vlgZ2SvWWqBwVTGrVmz-hN2RQmg2GJ8IXBY-7Xm62BP_bJVf-nsR9b1HtCXSltTejewYSJh3mJdfLha4L7Y9UCf9Pmt5JYLEKklKATsznyhQjpd6/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="225" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4lAusYbPLPRzNlDy1Cqdx5Zo0Zw3vlgZ2SvWWqBwVTGrVmz-hN2RQmg2GJ8IXBY-7Xm62BP_bJVf-nsR9b1HtCXSltTejewYSJh3mJdfLha4L7Y9UCf9Pmt5JYLEKklKATsznyhQjpd6/" width="135" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5825380/" target="_blank">Wonder Wheel at the IMDb</a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Towards the end of this film Kate Winslet’s character says “Save me the bad drama” - if only she’d given this advice at the start! This offering, from writer and director Woody Allen, was decent but a bit derivative and for the most part, poorly acted.</p><p><br /></p><p>The film, set in the 1950s, starts with Justin Timberlake addressing the viewer and telling them he has a story for them. This breaking the fourth wall approach is rarely a good idea and I’ve no idea why it was employed here. Justin plays Mickey, a lifeguard at the beach on Coney island, near to where the titular ‘Wonder Wheel’ fairground ride is situated. Winslet is a waitress in a clam bar and she’s married to Jim Belushi who operates the merry-go-round. They live in a small apartment at the fairground with Winslet’s young son, who has a penchant for fire raising.</p><p><br /></p><p>Their set up is disturbed when Belushi’s daughter, Juno Temple, shows up. She hasn’t seen Pop for five years since she left to marry a mobster. She has now left the hood and is on the run from his retribution, given she’s spoken to the Feds and all. After some reconciliation Juno moves in and gets a job at the clam bar. She wants to better herself however, and starts attending night school. Winslet meanwhile is approaching 40 and is resentful that her fledgling acting career has given way to a life of washing dishes.</p><p><br /></p><p>Things look up for Kate however when she’s spotted walking the beach by Timberlake who quickly starts boffing her under the boardwalk. Kate falls for the lifeguard who himself is looking to further his writing aspirations. Things reach a head when Trousersnake takes a shine to Juno and the mob, in the shape of Paulie Walnuts and Bobby Bacala, start to zero in on their target. While the doomed love affair(s) survive and can happiness be found while the wheel keeps on turning?</p><p><br /></p><p>I was hoping for more from this film given its decent credentials, but it turned out to be a sub par ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ with all of the shouting and lost ambition but none of the drama or characters.</p><p><br /></p><p>Winslet was decent in the lead but she fell apart at the end with her motivations flying all over the place. “I’ve been drinking” she slurs at one point - well that’s no excuse really. Jim Belushi basically yells his whole script in a dirty vest and I was expecting him to bellow ‘Stellla!’ at any point. Timberlake’s character was thinly written - they tried to pitch him as a wannabe Eugene O’Neill but he was basically an extra from ‘Baywatch’ banging the local talent.</p><p><br /></p><p>The script, which saw laughable mob hit men stalking the boardwalk, was poor and the line between drama and comedy was breached several times. I think this was mostly unintentional, although the fire raising child did have a couple of moments of levity to break the kitchen sink drama.</p><p><br /></p><p>The costumes and locations were decent although the main apartment was obviously a set and the summer set film looked like it had been shot in the middle of the winter.</p><p><br /></p><p>Overall it was a decent distraction, but ultimately a disappointment and another to add to the lengthy footnotes of Allen’s career.</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : Under the Boardwalk with Kate ‘W’ rating 13/23</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-20064561243254501292020-11-25T16:27:00.002+00:002023-10-18T18:17:09.132+01:00No.339 : Wildling (2018) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCH8TBl9nn1HQOSn0zY6p0zMfDGdgUPFQXEUr7aQc3XVPjTietMrjdvyTQrWaiIbLQP2uR9Eahs1EnXf-Y-GmT67c7H3I7WstqXtcGPxPmAgn9nyicoi2b-nCCKvaRniLOjKOkDGAtkH8/s273/wild.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCH8TBl9nn1HQOSn0zY6p0zMfDGdgUPFQXEUr7aQc3XVPjTietMrjdvyTQrWaiIbLQP2uR9Eahs1EnXf-Y-GmT67c7H3I7WstqXtcGPxPmAgn9nyicoi2b-nCCKvaRniLOjKOkDGAtkH8/s0/wild.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5085924/" target="_blank">Wildling at the IMDb</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div>Here’s a film that flirts with a few genres but ultimately is a bit unsatisfying and undefined.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Tiny tot Anna lives in a cabin in the woods. ‘Daddy’ brings her food but she’s not allowed to leave lest ‘the wildlings’ get her. They are described as children eating savages and Anna has to make do with peeking out her window throughout her childhood. As she enters puberty and has her first period ‘Daddy’ starts to give her injections that make her sick. Eventually she begs to be allowed to go to ‘the better place’ and ‘Daddy brings in his gun. He’s not up to the task and decides to shoot his own head off instead.</div><div><br /></div><div>The now teen Anna is discovered and coaxed back to civilisation by Liv Tyler’s policewoman character, who’s more of a social worker than a cop. Strangely the social services let Liv take Anna home where she meets Liv’s brother, Ray.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film then shifts from what appeared to be a kidnap and abuse story to one of someone trying to integrate into society having never experienced it before - a bit like ‘Encino Man’. We get the usual bitchy girls and school bullies and soon Anna blossoms and goes to a cool party with Ray where she gets a bit of kissy face - but wait! Her teeth start falling out and when she runs off to the woods she rips the throat out of a would be rapist.</div><div><br /></div><div>It’s soon clear that we are in the realms of the supernatural with Anna being one of the wildlings that she was once taught to fear. As she slowly transforms she has to deal with hunters, her admirer and ‘Daddy’ who it turns out is as good at suicide as he was at parenting.</div><div><br /></div><div>I liked the first hour of this film but it lost it’s way in a haze of ropey CGI effects and confused character development. It reminded me of the TV show ‘Grimm’ with supernatural goings on running parallel with everyday life. The town has a man with a wolf’s head hat walking about with no issues as well as a well armed posse of wildling hunters who seem to have a free rein to shoot up and burn anything they like. No wonder as sheriff Liv Tyler is as effective as an umbrella in a hurricane.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bel Powley was pretty good in the main role of Anna, with her bulbous eyes and bewildered looks selling the character’s introduction into the real world. She was let down with the transformation effects which gave her a hairy back and a bad manicure. Later on she went full wolf, and it looked more animated than Wile E Coyote.</div><div><br /></div><div>There were probably three films boiled into one here, with the first of the locked up girl being the most interesting although somewhat reminiscent of ‘Room’. Later on the high school element was a bit overly familiar with the transformation and hunt portion being faintly daft.</div><div><br /></div><div>All in all it was a decent and entertaining offering with a few wrong foots sprinkled about to keep you guessing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Best Bit : Opening 20 minutes ‘W’ Rating 14/23</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-7912064024197032482020-11-23T20:43:00.001+00:002020-11-23T20:43:04.923+00:00No.338 : Whiplash (2014) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWUJyu1XHr8cBtsy9uTSE7T0RYpCgtiuprOManD43pCQ1JFUS06nRjFSpL4Znctlr7sA6M31LCAHB7m1qfC10n_A3t7aiue5fQTDlHGguQQiVqAq5nJH5tMQA4BL2sZq28E36p85WyQbr/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1518" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWUJyu1XHr8cBtsy9uTSE7T0RYpCgtiuprOManD43pCQ1JFUS06nRjFSpL4Znctlr7sA6M31LCAHB7m1qfC10n_A3t7aiue5fQTDlHGguQQiVqAq5nJH5tMQA4BL2sZq28E36p85WyQbr/" width="162" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582802/" rel="nofollow">Whiplash at the IMDb</a><br /></p><br /> Oh good ‘whiplash’? - that’s either going to be about kinky sex or that bloke in Iron Man 2. Jazz drumming you say? Good stuff!<p></p><p><br /></p><p>The ‘whiplash’ of the title is in fact a jazz piece that requires a lot of fast drumming and one that won’t be on my Spotify play list any time soon. The film is however a triumph and even if you have a strong aversion to jazz you’ll still find a lot to like here.</p><p><br /></p><p>Miles Teller, of <a href=" https://100wmovies.blogspot.com/2019/02/no-260-war-dogs.html" target="_blank"> War Dogs</a> fame plays Andrew, a student at a prestigious New York music school. He lives alone with his Dad and goes to see films with him. He has no friends, possibly because he plays jazz drums, but does manage to ask out the concession stand girl at the movies.</p><p><br /></p><p>He aspires to get in the school band run by J. Jonah Jamieson himself, J.K. Simmons but the teacher is a hard taskmaster. He sets Andrew challenges and plays him off his fellow drummers in the hope of getting the best out of him. From the outside he appears to be a bully but he is only trying to give the world the next jazz great by making his protégée really earn the accolades he craves.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are a lot of drumming solos and training montages as Andrew's hands bleed at the workload. Things come to a head when Andrew gets some whiplash of his own in a car accident on the way to a contest where he manages to get on stage despite bleeding all over. He attacks his teacher when stood down and is expelled from school.</p><p><br /></p><p>News comes out of another student who killed himself under the pressures placed on him by his teacher and Andrew is pressured into testifying against his mentor. Will he do so? and are the sacrifices demanded worth the cost?</p><p><br /></p><p>This is a cracking study of obsession and, even if you hate jazz, you can’t help but be impressed with the passion and dedication on show. The music is mostly a noise to me but Simmons is excellent as the maniac teacher throwing furniture and finding fault in every offering. Teller looks a lot older than his character’s 19 years (he was 25 at the time) and he maybe doesn’t seem as vulnerable as a result. His romantic subplot goes nowhere, apart from showing what a solitary life it is that he is aspiring to.</p><p><br /></p><p>The finale is a bit drawn out and self indulgent and to be honest if I’d bought a ticket for the concert I’d have been in the bar long before the drawn out drum solo got halfway. Still they go to jazz concerts and get what they deserve.</p><p><br /></p><p>Simmons rightly won the Oscar for his performance, but strangely for Best Supporting actor - that must have been politics as this was basically a two-hander throughout. I liked the direction and editing that kept my interest, even when we were treated to another few bars of ‘whiplash’ for the twentieth time.</p><p><br /></p><p>It may annoy your neighbours but this is an enjoyable and well made film with two excellent performances and a fine study on going that extra mile for perfection.</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : Losing the CDW ‘W’ Rating 18/23</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-76578655297083320242020-11-22T14:11:00.002+00:002020-11-22T14:11:27.139+00:00No.337 : Wheels of Fortune (2020) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5HT3vdtexDbTFNnMRiDA9iJoTYRfBH_SIakPPDjBKSS4SDtfsaWruiVqlWarojVU8_PxJ-p1W4MXtvpN3s1JZwMnHNRiVMI5nwKcoO09wOq8T8Cbta-eHd4Gvu__YcFM8u33yptYYHYE/s266/wheelsd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5HT3vdtexDbTFNnMRiDA9iJoTYRfBH_SIakPPDjBKSS4SDtfsaWruiVqlWarojVU8_PxJ-p1W4MXtvpN3s1JZwMnHNRiVMI5nwKcoO09wOq8T8Cbta-eHd4Gvu__YcFM8u33yptYYHYE/s0/wheelsd.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9735976/" target="_blank">Wheels of Fortune at the IMDb</a><br /></p><p>Badger out of ‘Breaking Bad’ stars in this redneck inheritance comedy which registered a single smile with this viewer. We open with Jeff Fahey, who we liked in ‘Machete’, out for a sky dive. His chute and backup fail but he is saved by a friend who grabs him and eases him back towards Earth. Sadly the rescuer’s parachute is cut by a drone, but at least he softens Jeff’s landing. It’s not Jeff’s day however as he is then hit by a truck and seemingly fatally injured.</p><p><br /></p><p>He runs a large company and his grasping children arrive at his bedside to hear who will inherit the business. Instead they are told of his long lost son Bo (Badger) who was the product of him slumming it some years ago. Bo is a mechanic for a tractor pull champion and he still laments the day when the lack of a clutch cable meant he couldn’t win the big race as a child, sending him on a losing spiral that has persisted ever since.</p><p><br /></p><p>His fortunes look up however when Jeff, who has died off-screen, sends his lawyer to Bo to offer a challenge, the like that is only ever heard of in movies. The challenge is that if Bo can get a podium finish in four races over the next month he will inherit something that isn’t really specified. He isn’t keen at first, but the offer of $100 a day expenses for him, his idiot friend Noodle, and the love interest Mandy seals the deal.</p><p><br /></p><p>The film then takes many predictable turns with the conniving relatives trying to stop Bo’s progress, him becoming an ‘internet sensation’ and of course him losing sight of what’s really important. With three podium finishes in the bag it all comes down to the monster truck racing - can Bo win the challenge? And what inevitable surprises lies in wait?</p><p><br /></p><p>This was an awful Netflix find that has very little to recommend it. It was like a mash up between ‘Brewster’s Millions’ and ‘Run Ronnie Run’ but not nearly as enjoyable as either. It was a comedy, so the ridiculous premise can be excused to some degree, but how does a guy who dies unexpectedly manage to have an elaborate plan all set up, including a message dispensing suitcase and a schedule set up that begins the day of his untimely demise? That’s your clue actually; I just wonder if in real life the lawyers would tell him to piss off with the relatives getting him declared mental from the off.</p><p><br /></p><p>Badger is kinda likable in the lead but his shtick runs thin early on and he doesn’t have what it takes to hold the whole thing together. The conniving relatives weren’t menacing at all and their characters were underwritten. I did like love interest Mandy, but she could have done without the inflated lips.</p><p><br /></p><p>The only chuckle raised with me was the wise ticket collector who got the sack for dispensing sage advice. Other than that it was a dull ride though various motor sports with real footage inter-cut with our hero doing the ‘driving’.</p><p><br /></p><p>The redneck humour offered no laughs with exchanges like ‘It’s a retinal scan’ / ‘You’re not sticking that up my butt’ being the standard on offer. If you are on your third bottle of wine you may snigger at the man being trapped in a porta-potty, but this was low brow fare that won’t last ten minutes in the memory.</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : ‘You're fired’ ‘W’ Rating 7/23</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-14695195908557347382020-11-15T18:45:00.002+00:002020-11-15T18:45:11.212+00:00No.336 : Where’s the Love? (2014) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJwfbF_wZCZTjNB0vVqPzUy9FoGLz0heWz9t3_kfDR3obwOUsH8s88ZdDi6uwLVKrR3afyvxuVCehgiylOuuCCZr9d87_bwKhFgmhj7DBhVzJ3hz07HOpikO_MZqdFO56ApHlfR-XPp5n/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJwfbF_wZCZTjNB0vVqPzUy9FoGLz0heWz9t3_kfDR3obwOUsH8s88ZdDi6uwLVKrR3afyvxuVCehgiylOuuCCZr9d87_bwKhFgmhj7DBhVzJ3hz07HOpikO_MZqdFO56ApHlfR-XPp5n/" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3688330/" target="_blank">Where's the Love? at the IMDb</a><br /></div><p>No, it’s nothing to do with the Black Eyed Peas’ song - they didn’t use the contraction in any event. This is a made for TV movie about relationships and yes, we have scraped the barrel so far in our ‘W’ movie quest that we are through the base and nearing the Earth’s core.</p><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Our lovely leads are Sebastian and Ryan (a lady) who are a married couple who host a successful daytime talk show called ’Where’s the Love’ [ Ron Howard voice : That’s the name of the film!] that deals with failing marriages. They are both doctors and dispense wisdom and advice to their guests who have issues in their relationships. The big twist is however that our couple also have issues of their own! Can the physicians heal themselves?</p><p><br /></p><p>The couple survived a rocky period in their marriage when Seb had an affair. The couples’ agent and producers keep pressurising them on take on new jobs and tours meaning they have to shore up their relationship’s crumbling façade whilst never fixing what is at the heart of their dilemmas.</p><p><br /></p><p>Things come to a head when they are ambushed at a book launch with pictures of Seb out with the same model with whom he had the affair. Ryan ditches his ass and gets her long hair cut to show the changes she plans on making. Seb gets bumped from the show which is rebranded as a programme for divorcees with Ryan hosting solo.</p><p><br /></p><p>Seb meanwhile gets a job on radio and releases his own book about men making bad choices. Whilst we wait for the inevitable reconciliation there is a side plot of the agent and producer who hate each other but are slowly building respect and maybe feeling a little more? When will all the principals have a big kiss and let this thing be over? Not quickly enough!</p><p><br /></p><p>This was a horrible cheesy film about relationships that was intercut with captions cards offering wry homilies which were clearly designed for woman to nudge their long suffering spouses and say ‘That’s you that is’. You also have short clips of couples talking about their own relationship issues, just in case the central relationship issues spine of the film wasn’t enough for you.</p><p><br /></p><p>In truth the film was basically marriage guidance dressed up as entertainment. I wasn’t entertained at all and the ending was so pat and unearned that you are left feeling that they must have run out of money and just jettisoned the previous 80 minutes of character development to just say ‘and they lived happily ever after’. Nothing of substance or value was learned, with the ‘secret’ of a good relationship being declared as 'honesty and communication'. And not boffing models, I’d imagine.</p><p><br /></p><p>This isn’t a film directed at my demographic and I’m sure some will take the homilies to heart and decide to work at their relationship just as their partner is trying to leave via the bathroom window.</p><p><br /></p><p>The production values were decent and the cast mostly likeable, but the material was thin and the message patronising. Seek your therapy elsewhere!</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : They were taken last week! ‘W’ Rating 6/23</p><p> </p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-50922106621165700872020-11-14T19:42:00.007+00:002020-11-14T19:42:54.199+00:00No.335 : What the Waters Left Behind (2017) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhET1AVVI2cUoqxXag8QUddnOEXqEDBbFlP1eZfk2eNtoNgCIoxSvo6lL_D-6qBE3qPbxcn-z5bEsRuJWcWdwehiRlghslD1RH_9cTfQcU9vmOoXxurC9HRZ5C3LkWX-K8fGp_rBr51QlFE/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhET1AVVI2cUoqxXag8QUddnOEXqEDBbFlP1eZfk2eNtoNgCIoxSvo6lL_D-6qBE3qPbxcn-z5bEsRuJWcWdwehiRlghslD1RH_9cTfQcU9vmOoXxurC9HRZ5C3LkWX-K8fGp_rBr51QlFE/" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6332764/" target="_blank">What the Waters Left Behind at the IMDb</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p>As our regular reader will attest, we are not adverse to the odd foreign film here at the ‘W’ Movie Blog and, with that in mind, let’s head south to Argentina for this derivative murder fest.</p><p></p><p><br /></p><p>We get some exposition to start as we learn of a small village that was beset by rising flood waters. It had to be forcibly evacuated by the military before it was totally engulfed with the population displaced - or where they? Obviously not.</p><p><br /></p><p>Many years later a documentary film crew have returned to the village which has recently re-emerged, due to the falling floodwaters. They are pretty low rent, relying on an ancient VW camper van and some limited equipment. They have in tow a young woman who was a refugee from the village, and the plan is to capture her memories of the once vibrant town.</p><p><br /></p><p>On the journey to the village we get to know our six victims, er, filmmakers, who have the usual list of quirks and character points such as love rivals and a small poodle owner. Yappy dug is definitely getting it.</p><p><br /></p><p>They stop off at a small petrol station and visit the worst toilet this side of ‘Trainspotting’. The attendants are all a bit strange, especially the old woman who insists that they buy her pies in exchange for her ‘clearing up their shit. On the evidence seen, not much shit gets cleared up, even on a good day.</p><p><br /></p><p>Our heroes get ripped off on the fuel and window screen wipe down so they roar off yelling abuse and ditching the rancid pies - huge mistake!</p><p><br /></p><p>At the village things go OK at first with the refugee showing the team around and recounting some interesting tales. Their van however breaks down and it’s clear someone has cut the petrol pipe. They make the standard error of splitting up and soon they start to fall afoul of some colourful locals and a snake. As their numbers inevitably whittle down, we wonder who will survive and whether the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ people have their copyright infringement lawsuit ready to go.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think if this film was in English it would have been easier to dismiss as a clear knockoff in an already crowed survival horror genre. As it was, the Spanish language and exotic locations kept me interested or at least reading the subtitles.</p><p><br /></p><p>It’s clear early on that the villains of the piece were a ‘Sawney Bean’ type cannibal family, with the gas station pies the first hint that maybe the vegan option wasn’t so bad. They revealed themselves gradually, and the look of sheep skull hats and massive cudgels was quite impressive and very ‘Silent Hill’.</p><p><br /></p><p>The big surprise was nothing of the sort and I was only caught unawares as it was actually presented as such and not just assumed. The locations were excellent for the first hour with what looked like a real life disaster zone being used. Once the action decamped to an obvious set for the cannibals lair I lost interest and the film any momentum that it had earned.</p><p><br /></p><p>There were a few bone crunching kills but nothing you haven’t seen before and better in films like ‘Wolf Creek’.</p><p><br /></p><p>Overall this was an interesting pastime but it offered little new apart from some inventive locations and costumes. I’d seek my thrills elsewhere if I were you.</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : ‘Nearly Done’ ‘W’ Rating 11/23</p><p><br /> </p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-18987617081967418812020-10-30T20:52:00.002+00:002020-11-01T10:21:35.669+00:00No.334 : Where’s the Money (2017) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHWcXDL5Tpnl9_Km2NAEfJwNkfCW9EPVbfc6YJkPp_6RBl3iZlMOLgdyfsvdsdsRVyzFqXjM-rRzQ_8VU3QwIx4PsYDQg7fInAdR8RVz0V-YQ7yk1CDThi5xAqVB1vSpXbhoWCUKgxx01/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="630" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHWcXDL5Tpnl9_Km2NAEfJwNkfCW9EPVbfc6YJkPp_6RBl3iZlMOLgdyfsvdsdsRVyzFqXjM-rRzQ_8VU3QwIx4PsYDQg7fInAdR8RVz0V-YQ7yk1CDThi5xAqVB1vSpXbhoWCUKgxx01/" width="126" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5716848/" target="_blank">Where's the Money at the IMDb</a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Hmmm, for a film centred about higher education it’s disappointing that the interrogative statement that is the title hasn’t been furnished with a question mark. Still we’ve went over this old chestnut before with the question mark being considered unlucky in Hollywood. It begs the question therefore; how bad would this film have been if the correct punctuation was used?</p><p><br /></p><p>Actually, it’s not that bad - it’s horrible, unfunny and morally dubious but I did get a few chuckles from the characters who were all desperate not to cause offence and be seen as racist. </p><p><br /></p><p>The film opens with some narration and an overview of L.A. and specifically South Central. Our hero, Del, works in a gym that his father and uncle started to keep kids away from crime. Sadly they didn’t practice what they preached and ended up in jail for a $1m bank robbery. Del is a bit hopeless and is constantly nagged by his Mom to fix an overhead air conditioner that isn’t properly secured. This is possibly the first use of Chekov’s air conditioner in a mainstream movie, so remember it for later.</p><p><br /></p><p>Del’s Dad gets in touch to say that his Uncle is due to get out and he’s worried that he’ll grab the hidden bank job loot before he can. He tasks Del with recovering the cash, but alas the derelict house in which the money was hidden is now a frat house for a bunch of white college kids.</p><p><br /></p><p>Del tries to get to the basement where the money is hidden by posing as a fire marshal but is costume is rumbled and he has to start another plan. There’s no suggestion that he should maybe get a job and report the money to the authorities, so instead he poses as a pledge to join the fraternity. The frat lads know that they need a token non-white, so Del stacks the deck in his favour by leading a revolt of all the minorities that he fails to join in with.</p><p><br /></p><p>Del now has to go through a variety of initiation rituals to gain entry to the fraternity and the money laden basement. Will he get the hard to please girl and will the money be found - and kept?</p><p><br /></p><p>The best part of this film was it’s approach to racism and social hang ups in general. The white characters dressed in KKK suits for the initiation, pointing out that their frat actually predated the KKK and their hats are less pointy. This led to some fun scenes in the ghetto where every character had a gat and said ‘motherfucker’. I don’t know if they were mocking stereotypes by having loads of them, but I don’t think so.</p><p><br /></p><p>The whites were constantly conferring over the correct language to use with Del gaining mileage by calling them out for their use of ‘slaves’ and ‘auctions’. The whites were all embarrassed and the blacks had a good laugh with their faux outrage. It was a bit one note however so it was good that they had a couple of gross out scenes to balance the political commentary - the man licking out a rat was lovely.</p><p><br /></p><p>The big showdown at the end went as you’d guess and it seemed bizarre that they just shared out the cash with no worries about the prospect of life in a super-max prison if they were found out. There was some measure of redemption and bonding all round, but what about the poor insurance company who had the rightful claim to that cash? No wonder my Aviva shares are in the toilet!</p><p><br /></p><p>Overall a decent fun take on contemporary attitudes to race where no one got offended and we all learned a bit about acceptance, tolerance and stealing money.</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : Stealing the Time Capsule - 14/23</p><p> </p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-78561471401441524312020-10-26T18:09:00.001+00:002020-10-26T18:10:39.528+00:00No.333 : White Space (2018)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEian87S2ZvtEpR0sRto6bbKVHLUzRcOJl6qcojD1VwoxhVlriL8oBOq58_6funEbgRF40gxhN4klQ5FH71hYweCuvA3bNjqFa5KLk1sDY-XLIOn5SwOlL6I4EaEE4PbyaaZ_VFJjJ_LKtKR/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEian87S2ZvtEpR0sRto6bbKVHLUzRcOJl6qcojD1VwoxhVlriL8oBOq58_6funEbgRF40gxhN4klQ5FH71hYweCuvA3bNjqFa5KLk1sDY-XLIOn5SwOlL6I4EaEE4PbyaaZ_VFJjJ_LKtKR/" width="180" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1977094/" target="_blank">White Space at the IMDb</a><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Problem : You want to make a sci-fi film but don’t have a plot. Solution? Just repurpose some old public domain classic and you’re good to go.</p><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Strange as it may sound this film is ‘Moby Dick’ in space. But wouldn’t that need a big whale you may ask? Well this has one, a big space whale, like the type that definitely exist, but just haven’t been found yet. Don’t ask about what they eat or how they propel themselves; it’s probably a metaphor or something.</p><p><br /></p><p>We start in the future, but also in the past in 2123. A big fraggin’ space whale totals a ship killing nearly all of the crew. We then fast forward 24 years and learn that one of the young survivors now has his own ship and he’s out for revenge. He has a ragtag crew of basically every space faring stereotype you can think of, from the Bourbon drinking old salt to the nerdy, misfit engineer.</p><p><br /></p><p>The crew are supposedly out farming food in space and the best pickings are in ‘white space’ where communications are difficult and perils await in the shape of space pirates and space whales. The crew are keen to harvest the ambergris and get home but the captain is twisted by his lust for revenge on the whale who took his father and he’s got a homing beacon on it that is now giving a signal.</p><p><br /></p><p>On the way to the inevitable showdown the crew get robbed by some pirates and the engineer gets infected by a parasite that turns him into Vincent D’Onofrio out of ‘Men in Black’. They also have to contend with a saboteur and a snooper from a government agency who want to keep an eye on our heroes’ shady practices.</p><p><br /></p><p>Who will survive? Would Melville approve and does watching this count as me having read the book?</p><p><br /></p><p>This was a strange offering. It had long sequences that looked like cut scenes from video games and a ridiculous premise that wasn’t really explored - I’m none the wiser as to what ‘white space’ was meant to be. At least they didn’t hide their inspiration with the ship named ‘The Essex’ (the proto ‘Pequod’) and plenty of other Melville nods sprinkled along the way. The source material meant that you knew our captain was going to go full Ahab at some point, so it was no surprise when he did so. Maybe it was to the actor though, who was unconvincing when trying to display madness, mania or even slight excitement.</p><p><br /></p><p>The subplot with the possessed engineer was poorly delivered also with a couple of nasty and brutal stabbings - haven’t these people heard of ray guns? It was maybe a budget issue as they had the same set of kitchen scales as my wife - maybe they were space antiques?</p><p><br /></p><p>Virtually every space film you can think of gets a nod here with the slime coming through the roof onto the metal decking a straight lift from every Alien film, and the crew appearing like a ‘Firefly’ fan convention. None of the characters worked for me and some of the backstories were poor - one woman had several convictions for assaults with a frying pan. She must have been Scottish - at least she got to use her singular talent when confronted by the baddie!</p><p><br /></p><p>Overall this was a strange offering which, despite some decent special effects, didn’t make a lot of sense and failed to engage with me on any level. One to throw back!</p><p><br /></p><p>Best Bit : Mr Stabby Loses His Head ’W’ Rating 11/23</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div><p><br /> </p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-92215031698468649092020-10-25T10:27:00.000+00:002020-10-25T10:27:07.388+00:00No.332 : Winter of Our Dreams (1981) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEildy7Lj46_OxDu5WhpxVpd11iDI5F9nDO-YCGHQfWSikEOUYYD59GQ3p0sOFkPXU2QIRYI_tP7j4lFY4Y5gEx8ET2gv2agZ-hesm8mPBGKXlba0Tr-I4eN_YUEfnBdqTPI1Iaz-uK83Tnj/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEildy7Lj46_OxDu5WhpxVpd11iDI5F9nDO-YCGHQfWSikEOUYYD59GQ3p0sOFkPXU2QIRYI_tP7j4lFY4Y5gEx8ET2gv2agZ-hesm8mPBGKXlba0Tr-I4eN_YUEfnBdqTPI1Iaz-uK83Tnj/" width="167" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083331/" target="_blank">Winter of Our Dreams at the IMDb</a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In the pretentious title stakes this one fall short of current incumbent <a href="https://100wmovies.blogspot.com/2009/05/no-136-winter-of-frozen-dreams.html" target="_blank">Winter of Frozen Dreams</a> but given it is all set in Sydney, Australia they couldn’t go with the ’frozen’ bit I assume. Bryan Brown stars as a renaissance man who runs a book shop and plays chess against his computer. He does of course drink beer and womanise so as not to turn off the bloke demographic. I doubt this would have been an easy sell to the average Ozzer so plenty of topless ladies are thrown into the mix, including some random topless sunbathers lying on a bit of grass.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Bryan is busy playing chess and selling books when he hears about a dead woman, who had been pulled from the harbour a week ago, being identified as a women he knew ten years ago. He used to be a political agitator but has now married and settled down with Gretel. The two have an open marriage which sees Gretel spend time with her young and hunky boyfriend. Not to be outdone Bryan wanders about with his shirt off most of the film but he doesn’t see much action between the sheets.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Anyway he goes to the girl’s funeral and later meets up with fellow attendee, prostitute Lou (Judy Davis). Bryan’s dead girlfriend had been on the game after they broke up and he is keen to learn about her decline and his involvement in her eventual demise. There is no murder angle as it is established early on it was suicide, but Bryan has to dig about his past to try and get some answers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Some of these come from Lou who has the dead girl’s diaries, and unfortunately, her guitar. The focus alternates between the two leads with scenes of Bryan’s relationship interplayed with Judy struggling to get drugs and to understand her own life and prospects. She reads through the dead girl’s diaries and plays her maudlin music on some tapes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Lou and Bryan spend a long weekend together where she gets off the junk and he rebukes her advances. Can these troubled souls find the answers they need to move on with their lives?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This was a decent slice of life but I didn’t learn anything or become invested in the characters. Judy Davis, who we know from Lewis Collins starrer <a href="https://100wmovies.blogspot.com/2008/08/no50-who-dares-wins.html" target="_blank">Who Dares Wins</a>, was good as Lou but I couldn’t get used to her tight ginger perm. She was pretty skuzzy as the drug addled whore, although I struggled to have sympathy for her character. Bryan did his usual serviceable performance but I got no emotional resonance from him and he seemed to be the same character he usually plays, chugging beer and being blokey.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It was fun to see Baz Luhrmann as Judy’s occasional flat mate who couldn’t get it on with the lady of the night. As an actor he makes a great director.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">All in all this was an essay in damaged people trying to move on and therefore hardly what you’d consider to be classed as entertainment. There were decent performances, and sunny Australia looked nice, but overall you won’t learn much or invest in the largely one note characters.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Best Bit : Lou tries to pay her rent 13/23</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><br /></div></div><p><br /></p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-47786453153353306642020-10-21T15:42:00.001+01:002020-10-21T15:42:19.578+01:00No.331 : Where’s That Fire? (1939) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERnoma06dqrJuJ356CbuRwzGJZ9tV_mpWrmf3B8lZkz2eXC3rxD7r-PgANUU743iEGffF8BafQHcxseAqMpDhnYWHoHp_LgZjjF4AmucU8hgizLVRJj2omBV_S2c91I5qCWJApszM4K4c/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERnoma06dqrJuJ356CbuRwzGJZ9tV_mpWrmf3B8lZkz2eXC3rxD7r-PgANUU743iEGffF8BafQHcxseAqMpDhnYWHoHp_LgZjjF4AmucU8hgizLVRJj2omBV_S2c91I5qCWJApszM4K4c/" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032125/" target="_blank">Where's That Fire? at the IMDB</a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">OK, who asked for a black and white comedy that survived the Blitz and is now in the public domain? Oh everyone? Good news, ‘cos that’s what we’ve got.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Will Hay stars as hopeless fire chief Captain Viking. He manages two underlings and the three of them make the Stooges look like intellectuals. They get up to some funny hijinks, but how many have burned to death whilst they are squirting hoses at each other?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">They work in a sleepy town, but one that seems to beset with fire related issues. They have had sixteen call outs and have not put out one fire - well they have, because otherwise they’d still be burning, as they point out to the councillors. The lads’ ancient fire engine takes ages to get set up and after the town hall burns down their bosses put them on a warning - modernise and put out one fire or they’ll all be sacked. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This warning puts a light under our guys, so to speak, so they head off to a modern fire station to see what they can learn. Back home, Chief Viking who is a part time inventor, sets up some automation and the guys set about installing a fireman’s pole. This takes ages to get in the door and results in the breakage of just about every window in town.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Meanwhile a couple of scouts show up and ask to rent the fire engine for a film for £30. Our negligent heroes grab the money but unbeknown to them, the men are in fact criminals intent on stealing the crown jewels. The ancient engine is the same as that in the Tower of London and the baddies hope to ‘Trojan Horse’ their way in.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Can our heroes thwart the crime and save their jobs?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You know a film is ancient when Charles Hawtry is cast as a schoolboy. He’s actually quite good in it as he offers Viking some mathematical formulas as a solution to his fire pole issues.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The film is slapstick throughout with just a tad of drama tacked on at the end so they can claim a story. The three main cast members bounce off each other well, with each being more idiotic and greedy than the next. I liked Moore Marriott’s old coot who loved the bottle and wasn’t shy about lighting fires to earn a couple of quid.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Some of the set pieces were great fun with the fire pole manoeuvring being funnier and funnier the more ridiculous their schemes got. I usually bail out on something when you can see where it’s going, but there was a good ten minutes of broken windows and wilder solutions that didn’t waste a moment.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It was gentle fun with their horse Percy the brains of the outfit. At one point they are trying to put out a fire at a petrol station and they connect the hose to the petrol rather than to the water - deaths and massive property damaged must have ensued!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">There was the odd kick in the pants a la Chaplin, but this was a lot more British with class issues and a stiff upper lip all present and correct. At only 70minutes this one doesn’t ask much of you and you will be rewarded with more than a few laughs and a nostalgic look at a long bygone age.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Best Bit : Automatic Horse Saddling ’W’ Rating 17/23</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><p><br /> </p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-900081477164232842020-10-18T18:41:00.001+01:002020-10-18T18:41:11.605+01:00No.330 : Why Me? (1984) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEior46Xuyva8uXF9PgKtQ_acFsQzOVv3KAUhPn6CZNXew0S1A7IpRxPZDyWPwNsZIy-bJbShMYoXJjWHdN2h1ltb4JVEsvWanFvKrANzCpVCXGIoTRdp23CuAK5oBS1fBHchteGDYljV3cT/s1000/MV5BOTdhOWQzN2QtYzg1Ny00NGQ3LTlkNzItNWM5ZmQ5ODYxYTc3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzMwOTY2NTI%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C666%252C1000_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="666" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEior46Xuyva8uXF9PgKtQ_acFsQzOVv3KAUhPn6CZNXew0S1A7IpRxPZDyWPwNsZIy-bJbShMYoXJjWHdN2h1ltb4JVEsvWanFvKrANzCpVCXGIoTRdp23CuAK5oBS1fBHchteGDYljV3cT/s320/MV5BOTdhOWQzN2QtYzg1Ny00NGQ3LTlkNzItNWM5ZmQ5ODYxYTc3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzMwOTY2NTI%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C666%252C1000_AL_.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088398/">Why Me? at the IMDb</a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">True life medical drama now in this 1984 made for TV movie. They can’t all be blockbusters, although we wish they were! This was a decent offering with a few unintentional laughs and a genuinely inspiring story.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Glynnis O’Connor stars as military nurse Leola Mae Harmon. She is recently pregnant but still runs to keep her figure. She drive a sweet Mustang but on her way to work one day disaster strikes. Whilst driving on the most obvious closed set road you’ll ever see, a poorly acting drunk overtakes a school bus and hits Leola’s car. The budget is blown in this early scene as the car flies off the road and somersaults a few times, depositing the non seatbelt wearing Leola on her face.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The paramedics are aghast at her injuries and disfigurement and she looks likely to die until Dr Stallings takes over her case in A&E. Dr Stallings, played by ‘Rico Dredd’ Armand Assante, has short hair and takes no nonsense. He immediately starts to plan the reconstruction of Leola’s shattered face, despite protests from his bosses, and casually lets her know her unborn baby is lost.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Meanwhile Leola‘s husband is having trouble coming to terms with his wife‘s injuries. He brings her a box of chocolates not realising that she is on an all soup diet. It doesn‘t help that the make up she‘s been given makes her look like an extra from ‘Star Trek‘ but he can‘t make love to her despite her baby doll nightie and kind offer of turning the lights off.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">He‘s soon off the scene and Rico and Leola set about rebuilding her face. There will she shouting and tears but can she be put back together and will the 40 odd operations mean that doctor and patient will form a bond that goes beyond the hospital?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This isn’t the kind of film I would normally watch but it was OK for the genre and I could see it being inspirational to those with disfigurements or with aspirations to marry a doctor.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">They made the husband out to be a right dick but I thought he tried his best. Taking the wife to a restaurant with gawking extras and an all soup diet couldn’t have been fun.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Assante got most of the big speeches and screen time with Leola largely mumbling though her sewn up mouth. The make up was poor with some scenes looking like she stuck some plasticine on herself for a joke. She was a strong character though, quickly getting back to work and helping others in situations similar to hers. She was prone to big outbursts, the effect of which was somewhat muted due to the fact that she had a sock in her mouth. When the drunk driver got off with a suspended sentence she almost brought the house down with an impassioned mumble.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I could have done without the mental imagery that the big break through of ‘vaginal tissue’ gave me, but the closing credits with some feel good captions and photos of the now recovered, real life, Leola made the whole painful journey worthwhile.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Best Bit : “…and for pudding?” “Soup” ‘W’ Rating 16/23</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><p><br /></p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-17290598769832106872020-10-14T18:24:00.002+01:002020-10-14T18:24:49.069+01:00No.329 : Welcome to New York (2014) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGas9QJpea1fgTUiW8u1z4mQrIOZTUTnAFYZrmLxvnv74cEefUpLeVHtq4VQSXOEHkT3DMu19eSuvmjyaTEliFxNYrV8D4LwcdyMJEw-ggzw9exkdLWSAgZm_qHQSxmYJCBmuaZCYsBtbf/s1000/MV5BMjA3Mzc0NjcxOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzIzMDQ5MTE%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C735%252C1000_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGas9QJpea1fgTUiW8u1z4mQrIOZTUTnAFYZrmLxvnv74cEefUpLeVHtq4VQSXOEHkT3DMu19eSuvmjyaTEliFxNYrV8D4LwcdyMJEw-ggzw9exkdLWSAgZm_qHQSxmYJCBmuaZCYsBtbf/s320/MV5BMjA3Mzc0NjcxOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzIzMDQ5MTE%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C735%252C1000_AL_.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2758890/" target="_blank">Welcome to New York at the IMDb</a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You know that when a film opens with captions and the lead actor talking about how the following is a work of fiction, that it has probably encountered legal difficulties. Having seen the film, it’s not hard to see why, with the events depicted following closely those of the Dominique Strauss-Khan affair when he, whilst head of the IMF, was accused of raping a hotel chambermaid.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Gerard De-pa-du stars as a totally different character, a French politician called Devereaux. He is a fat and sleazy individual who spends the first half hour of the film grabbing and sniffing a stream of prostitutes in his luxury New York hotel suite. He clearly has no respect for women and this leads to him grabbing a chambermaid when she has the misfortune of chancing upon him as he exits the shower.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">He knows he has done wrong and immediately heads to the airport. The maid has however went to the police and Gerard is pulled off his plane and put into jail. We see him processed through the system, including a ‘burn my eyes please’ strip search, and then his trial begins.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">He has a rich wife in the shape of Jacqueline Bisset who pays his $1m bail and $60k rent on the house he is confined to during his trail. With teams of lawyers looking to discredit the victim, will he get off and will he mend his ways?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Directed by ‘Bad Lieutenant’ helmer Abel Ferrara this was never going to be an easy watch and it certainly delivered on that front. It was a brave performance by the morbidly obese Depardieu who wasn’t shy in showing all - must have been nice for him to see his willy again at least! He did get lots of scenes pawing at prostitutes and these were unsettling rather than erotic as his letchy hands and massive belly dominated the screen.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I could see why Strauss-Khan’s lawyers objected to the film as it’s clearly about him, with the same townhouse used as he rented during his trial, but they make it explicit that the character was guilty of the assault and got off due to backhanded tactics, whereas Strauss-Khan was acquitted - although he did reach a settlement with the claimant in her civil case.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The film fell between two stools in that it was not a documentary but it also wasn’t a work of fiction. They can speculate what happened but it did seem unfair to ride roughshod over one person’s rights whilst championing those of another. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">There were large sections of the film in French with no subtitles offered on my copy. I don’t know if that was a deliberate ploy to make some of the evidence uncertain or just to hide some of the slander.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The opening sections with the debauched life style and the middle sections in the jail were good, but the trail and outcome seemed rushed and skimmed over. Some old archive footage of a verdict was shown and I take it this was from the original case. It did cement the idea that the real case and the one shown here were one and the same, with both leaving questions unanswered.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This is not what you’d term ‘light entertainment’ but there were some strong and compelling scenes and excellent performances all round. Overall however it was a bit of a misfire, with me knowing less about the real case having watched this dramatization of it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Best Bit : Gerard Has a Night In ‘W’ Rating 15/23</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><p><br /></p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327307999404561260.post-63434570706723014742020-10-13T21:00:00.002+01:002021-01-06T15:53:31.044+00:00No.328 : Wedding at Graceland (2019) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-E60K1j-F4GWsvMLZ3kp7motbr6gNNhXAyYeXte30m28_mBqOZ2enLgTbbptSL7-lFK0A41acvAC09cDd_x1IBnXI982D_GFUIKR0r4x2ZLvI9AH03b1qg4PvmlcgF1HtJXQlsvsbpUe/s675/MV5BOWM0ZmRiMzctZWI5OC00MjA0LTk5MDYtYTA0NjdmODkyMTJkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjgzMzAzMjE%2540._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-E60K1j-F4GWsvMLZ3kp7motbr6gNNhXAyYeXte30m28_mBqOZ2enLgTbbptSL7-lFK0A41acvAC09cDd_x1IBnXI982D_GFUIKR0r4x2ZLvI9AH03b1qg4PvmlcgF1HtJXQlsvsbpUe/s320/MV5BOWM0ZmRiMzctZWI5OC00MjA0LTk5MDYtYTA0NjdmODkyMTJkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjgzMzAzMjE%2540._V1_.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9777092/" target="_blank">Wedding at Graceland at the IMDb</a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I thought I’d up the ante and look for a bit more sex and violence to spice up the blog. Where else to look than the Hallmark Channel and a sugary sweet collaboration with the Presley estate? To be fair there is none of that sex and violence stuff, but there was a quizzical look at one point when it was discovered that two wedding cakes had been ordered.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The film sets its stall out early on with lots of touristy shots of Memphis played over Elvis crooning ‘Don’t Be Cruel’. We see a statue of the great man and it’s clear that filming rights for Graceland come with strings attached. Still there’s nothing in the way of subterfuge or sly product placement here - basically it’s 90 minutes of ‘Why don’t you have your wedding in the Graceland chapel?’ with added minor peril.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The film stars Kellie Pickler who seemingly came 6th in a series of ‘American Idol’. She has a daughter (no mention of the father) and a boyfriend, Clay, who used to be her teen sweetheart. The pair used sing together but Kellie was shepherded away from that life to get a business degree by her overbearing father and now works in a bank. She is now back with Clay following a reunion in the film ‘Christmas at Graceland’ which I don’t intend looking up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Clay takes Kellie and her daughter to Graceland to ‘drop off some documents’ but wouldn’t you just guess it, he’s there to propose! They seem to have an open door policy at Graceland as all their friends are hiding nearby to offer their congratulations. Also in attendance is Graceland’s wedding planner who tells them that the chapel is booked up for a year - but wait! They have a cancellation in 3 weeks - can our happy couple set up their wedding in time?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">What follows is an hour of minor setbacks as the families jet in and don’t immediately get on. Kellie’s father ‘The Major’ doesn’t take to Clay and acts like a Major asshole. Both Moms want to take charge and once a wedding planner is engaged things start to spiral out of control. Can the happy couple make it up the aisle and will the day end up just perfect, with everyone happy? Yes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This was a well made, sugar laced, travelogue for Memphis and for the excellent facilities available at the Graceland mansion - don’t forget the Graceland Chapel and Graceland Guest House either! It was good to see inside the mansion and even Pricilla showed up for one awkward scene where she gives her blessing to the union whilst looking like The Joker.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I didn’t recognise anyone on show apart from Rob Moran whom you’ll know from most of the Farrelly Brothers films. There was a big star guest at the end whom Clay snagged using his music industry connections - I was hoping for Michael Bolton but it turned out to be Lee Brice - me neither.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Obviously I’m not the target audience here, but it was decent fun with the mild peril of the vicar getting flu set against a nice sunny backdrop, with added Southern homilies. It was strange that money was never mentioned as an issue with the extra harpists and doves being dismissed as too much hassle rather than ’how much is this going to cost?’ It was however a fantasy piece and you could see the film doing well with the pissed up hen party crowd - 'that bitch mother in law knows that frosting isn’t right' - that kind of thing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Best Bit : I used to be a Chaplin in the army… ‘W’ rating 14/23</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><p><br /></p>Buttonmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01250187011808048865noreply@blogger.com0