Brave: Pixar’s Forgotten Masterpiece

Brave is an animated fantasy film by genre giants Pixar. The plot follows Merida a Scottish princess, who doesn’t like that she has no control in her own life; being expected to marry and keep alive old alliances.

When looking back at Pixar’s history and filmography, Brave falls solidly in the middle, in the average category. However, I genuinely believe that this film is criminally overlooked and, is, in fact, one of Pixar’s best.

The crux of the story is a relationship between a mum and her daughter, Princess Merida, (Kelly Macdonald), wants to have her own life and, follow her heart, whereas her Mum Queen Elinor, (Emma Thompson), wants her to marry and, become the next queen; crucially they don’t understand each other and won’t listen to what the other has to say. Merida makes a deal with a Witch, (Julie Walters), to give her a potion that will ‘change’ her mum, thinking it will change her mum’s mind; instead it turns her into a bear.

Despite her mum not being able to talk from this point forward, until the very end of the film, the emotional relationship between these two characters is a thing of beauty. As the two go on a journey to get Queen Elinor turned back, they bond and learn to see things from each others point of view. Despite this being done before, it perfectly captures the mother-daughter relationship in an incredibly honest way, that only Lady Bird has done before, it is incredibly affecting; and is a fantastic example of the soul Pixar films are known for.

The voice cast is fantastic, Kelly Macdonald is a great leading lady and, the role of Queen Elinor seems as though it was written for Thompson as she captures the regal, wise Queen in a way only she can. However, the standout performance of the voice cast is Billy Connolly as King Fergus, he is effortlessly hilarious and, perfectly captures the loving if misguided father.

It is nice to see a Scottish Princess and to see a film inspired by the folklore of the Highlands, it gives the film a very unique sense of identity, that I for one greatly appreciate. I would love to see more films set in this universe and, see the mythology further explored; as there is a deep well of folklore waiting to be tapped.

Ultimately it is a crying shame how this great film has faded into obscurity, forgotten under the weight of Toy Story and Coco. This film is beautiful and, has more soul than any other animated film I’ve seen this year. If you didn’t see this film when it came out or, just love Pixar films than this is a must-watch. This is miles better than the likes of Frozen and has a message we should all take notice of.

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Current Star Wars Climate

Today I thought I would write about the current state of Star Wars and, my thoughts on it; what better time than with the Rise of Skywalker mere weeks away. I will try and, keep politics out of it.

So before I talk about current Star Wars, I will talk about my history with the franchise I was born into the prequel era, I was 3 when The Phantom Menace hit cinemas, the first Star Wars film I saw in the cinema was Revenge of the Sith. So I grew up watching the prequels, and anyone who knows my thoughts on Star Wars knows I have a soft spot for them. I, of course, watched the Original trilogy religiously, it was revered in my house; so of course when it was announced that we would be getting a new trilogy, a sequel trilogy I was excited.

At the current moment in time, I strongly dislike the sequel trilogy and, I will now explain why.

It all began with the Force Awakens, I like many others was incredibly hyped for it, the trailers and the teaser had captured my imagination. However, when I went to see it I was left with one thought, that was incredibly average, incredibly safe.

That is my key issue with the new trilogy, it has potential but, instead it seems to be content to be average. The characters are all likeable but, they aren’t characters not really a lot of them are just there to carry the plot along; glorified macguffins. The Last Jedi that believe me I will get to in a minute, rather than deepen any of these characters just stuffs more characters into the mix, as though that will fix anything, you’re not able to care about the characters because they’re so flat. The other major issue with how the new trilogy treats characters is with the preexisting veterans. The new trilogy does two things with these characters milk them for nostalgia and, then kill them off to force an emotional reaction out of the audience; in the cheapest kind of way.

Now the second film in the trilogy The Last Jedi does take risks, I can’t criticise them for that, but what it also does far more than The Force Awakens is force in a political message; which yes Star Wars has always been political but, this is blatant and off-putting.
Whatsmore, while I do genuinely like Rian Johnson and think he is a talented filmmaker, I don’t think he was the right pick for this film as he disrupted the flow of the trilogy; through subverting expectations, this could have been done well but, here it just comes across as alienating and jarring. If Johnson was given his own trilogy set in a completely new part of the universe it could be outstanding but, this just wasn’t the film for him.

At the time of writing The Rise of Skywalker is weeks away and, I feel nothing. These films no longer feel like Star Wars to me they just feel like generic science fiction with bland forgettable characters. It is a shame to see a series that I once looked up to fall this low, I think the only way to save it is to move past everything that has gone before and, start afresh in a new part of the galaxy with new characters.

But hey Rogue One, Solo and the Mandalorian are all pretty good.

Written by Luke

Jumanji Welcome To The Jungle: The Perfect Videogame Adaption

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle is a fantasy, adventure comedy film acting in many ways like a sequel/ soft reboot of the Robin Williams classic. The plot follows a group of mismatch teenagers, a la the Breakfast Club, that all find themselves in detention together; having to clean out a room in the High School. While there they run into a mystical game Jumanji, this time around it takes the form of a videogame, because who plays board games, as they start playing they soon realise that Jumanji is so much more than just a game.

The characters themselves are the usual collection of stereotypes, the shy quirky boy, the shy quirky girl, who end up together, of course, the vapid self-obsessed girl, and the jock. Naturally while inside the videogame each character gets an avatar, these are the big Hollywood stars, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan. The shy quiet nerds, Spencer, (Alex Wolff), and Martha, (Morgan Turner), get the avatars of the cool badass confident, Dr Smolder Bravestone, (Dwayne Johnson) and Ruby Roundhouse, (Karen Gillan), respectively. The character development couldn’t be more obvious they both learn to be more confident and to love themselves; however, despite being cliche, these character arcs are well done and, the character transformation does feel rewarding at the end of the film.

Likewise making the popular girl, Bethany, (Madison Iseman), have the ingame avatar of Professor Shelly Oberon, (Jack Black), is equally as expected, but also equally hilarious; Black has the best lines in the film and, the humour of having a teenage girl in the body of a grown man provides some great laughs. Finally, you have the traditional jock Fridge, (Ser’Darius Blain), having the avatar of Moose Finbar, (Kevin Hart), the joke here is that Fridge goes from being big and muscular to small and weak, these jokes don’t land as well and, Hart often comes off as whiny and annoying.

Jumanji itself works almost perfectly as a videogame adaptation despite not actually being one, capturing the feeling of playing a game and the rules of them really well. Furthermore, the surprise reveal of Nick Jonas’ Seaplane being Alex Vreeke a kid who went missing 20 years ago gives the story a real emotional weight; especially when he realises how long he has actually been in Jumanji. There is a kind of jokey romance between Alex and Madison in the film, which in context feels quite icky, but at least this is mostly kept on the sidelines.

Ultimately Jumanji works perfectly for what it is, a dumb popcorn movie, it is not going to give you something you haven’t seen before, it doesn’t have anything new to say, but it is incredibly amusing and entertaining. The awkward nerd romance is nice to see, and Alex Wolff is a good leading man. However, this is Jack Black and Jo Jonas’ film, they’re both equally hilarious and, if the soon to be released sequel can give them and Gillan’s character more attention and, Johnson and Hart less, then it could be something really special.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Knives Out: It’s All About The Doughnut Hole

Knives Out is a murder mystery film, which positions itself as a fresh take on the WhoDunit genre. The plot follows a family gathering that goes off the rails when the Grandfather is found dead; was it foul play? That is what we need to find out.

Rian Johnson, of The Last Jedi and Lopper fame, writes and directs this film and, he does both well. Johnson’s signature subversion of expectation is in full effect here, however unlike in the Last Jedi where it feels out of place and almost deliberately antagonistic, in Knives Out Johnson uses this technique to enrich and enhance the mystery to great effect.

Nothing is straight forward in this film, which makes it a good mystery film, the trailers paint a very different film to the one you get. Furthermore, throughout the film, you will think the story is going one way only to have it veer off drastically in another direction. Most of the times this works really well, keeping you guessing, bringing more and more tension; however, some of these twists seem a little far fetched and seem like just an effort pad out the plot, which doesn’t help pacing.

The wider cast is not as involved as the trailer suggests them to be, with Knives Out instead really focusing on Ana de Armas’ Martha, Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc and to an extent Chris Evan’s as the Grandson Ransom. The rest of the cast each get their moment to shine, but other than that all have very little screen time. Knives Out is extensively a film about Martha, a character who is forced to go through a lot and do a lot, the film explores whether a change in financial standing can change a person, or if they will still be the same good person.

The master detective Blanc is Craig’s finest performance to date, he fully loses himself in the role, elevating it to an unforeseeable level. Craig goes fully manic towards the end of the film and, it is one of the best scenes I’ve seen all year; when you see it you will know which scene I mean.

Evans’ doesn’t have the biggest part, and the only reason I bring him up is that this is his first performance outside of the MCU in recent years and, it does very little for me; this does not make me think that Evans’ has any real acting talent, as his role could be played by anyone.

My only strong negative of the film is that there is a scene where all the characters gather together and discuss politics, this scene serves to show where on the political spectrum each character falls. To me there was no need for this scene as it felt preachy, it took me out of the film and felt like I was having headlines read to me; plus as someone who is not from the USA, I have very little interest or, care in American Political matters and, this scene left a sour taste in my mouth.

Overall 90% of this film is good if it wasn’t for some poorly written weak characters and, some needlessly forced politics, then I would give it full marks, but alas I can’t change what it is.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Irishman: I Hear You Paint Houses

The Irishman is a crime epic directed by Martin Scorsese the plot follows Frank Sheeran, (Robert De Niro), as he descends into the mobster underworld. The film spans Sheeran’s whole life; focusing a lot of the runtime on Sheeran’s relationship with the notorious Jimmy Hoffa, (Al Pacino).

The Irishman is an incredibly ambitious undertaking on Scorsese’s part, as he uses de-ageing technology to show the actors in their younger forms, rather than casting younger actors, which for the most part works well, especially if you’re prepared to suspend your disbelief; there were only two instances when I thought the CGI technology was noticeably bad.

It is nice to see all of these Gangster Film/ Scorsese veterans back on the big screen together, De Niro gives a career-best performance, which is nice to see as he hasn’t been in the best films recently. De Niro has given so much to the gangster genre, effectively becoming a cornerstone of it and, it is nice to see him get centre stage once again. Pacino likewise is phenomenal, his Hoffa can go toe to toe with Sheeran both in terms of presence and memorability. Really the Irishman is the story of the relationship between these two men. Another thing that makes the Irishman so special is that it marks the on-screen return of prolific crime film star Joe Pesci. Pesci plays Russel Bufalino a crime boss who takes a young Sheeran under his blood-soaked wing, it is lovely to see Pesci return, he gives a hearty performance, perhaps not as manic and crazed as some of his older performances, but still incredibly commanding all the same.

My one issue with the casting is that of Anna Paquin as Polly Sheeran, Frank’s daughter. Since very early on in the film Polly and Frank have a very tense relationship; as such she doesn’t talk to her father in the last act of the film, despite him wanting them to, my complaint is not that Paquin doesn’t have many lines, instead being why cast Paquin at all; this would have been a great opportunity to give to an unknown or, an upcoming talent; as Paquin herself doesn’t add much.

My final note is that the runtime, in case you didn’t know, is 3 and a half hours, which can be off-putting to some. The Irishman is paced very deliberately, sometimes scenes feel very long and drawn out, and yes this did make me lose focus and I did almost give up with it a few times, but such is the nature of an epic.

If you like the genre then there is more than enough to get you to invest in the Irishman, however, if you’re more of a casual viewer you may find some elements of it off-putting. Overall it is very nice to see some of these familiar faces back on the screen and giving standout performances.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

How to Train Your Dragon: The Love Between A Boy and his Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon is an animated action-fantasy film; loosely based on the 2003 kids book of the same name. How to Train Your Dragon is set in a Viking esque world, where every night villages are raided by troublesome dragons. Most of the Vikings are brave warriors who face off against the dragons to protect themselves and their land. However, Hiccup, (Jay Baruchel) isn’t like them he can’t swing a sword or, an axe, but he has a big heart. One day Hiccup captures a dragon, one of the most feared types the dreaded Night Fury, however rather than kill it and embrace his inner Viking, Hiccup befriends the dragon that he call toothless and what follows is their story.

The themes of How to Train Your Dragon are universal, the ideas of not feeling as though you belong, being different to everyone else around you, everyone has felt like that at some point in their life; and that is what this film and it’s sequels capture so well.

The animation is beautiful, each dragon has it’s own unique design and every corner of the map is dripping with detailed Norse mythology. This is just one of the few reasons why How to Train Your Dragon is one of Dreamworks big three franchise, the others being Kung Fu Panda and Shrek.

The relationship between the Hiccup and Toothless will strike an emotional chord with anyone who has ever had a pet before. The pure love is so perfectly captured here, and the film is not afraid to go dark with this, showing just how dark Hiccup and Toothless are willing to go for each other.

Whatsmore the relationship between Hiccup and his father Stoick is also incredibly well done. Stoick, (Gerard Butler), is the clan chief, as well as this he is a Viking in the truest sense, he is tough, manly and slays dragons for fun. To him, Hiccup never made any sense, he was always keen to understand him, but the lack of anything in common always kept them apart. The scene in the final act of the film when Stoick thinks he has lost his son, after effectively disowning him not long before, and he breaks down and realises that his outlook is wrong and, that Hiccup was right all along; then it turns out that Toothless the dragon Stoick hated has saved his son and he thanks it, it is the most touching scene I have seen in a film in a long time.

Ultimately the world of the How to Train Your Dragon is beautiful the mythology is rich and well explored, but the greatest strength that How to Train Your Dragon uses so well is its use of heart and emotion. It is despite being about dragons and Vikings and very fanciful, an incredibly affecting film and, one that will leave an impression on you long after the credits roll.

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Dazed and Confused: Alright Alright Alright

Dazed and Confused is a coming of age film, centring around various groups of Texas teens during the last day of school in 1976.

Dazed and Confused has gained an iconic place in film history, it is one of the defining coming of age films alongside other genre greats like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and, American Pie.

The reason for this is because Linklater creates an instantly memorable film, not only memorable but, one that anyone can relate to. The things that the teenagers do in this film are things that everyone has done at one point in their lives. The themes of questioning your place in the world and, the path that has been set for you; and the need to fit in are universal.

The film is shot in a documentary esque way, which is a signature of Linklater, you feel as though you’re really there with them, one of the gang. In keeping with this, Dazed and Confused really paints a picture of what 1970’s small-town America is like; glamorised obviously, it still feels like capturing a moment in history.

The performances are all also first-rate, Jason London as Randall Floyd, perfectly encapsulates a 1970’s teen; though his performance captures teenagers of all generations on the cusp of growing up and becoming a man; having to find a place in the world. What’s more Ben Affleck shines as detestable school bully, Fred O’ Bannion, a character that the film goes out of its way to make the villain showing how he is responsible for most of the younger characters misery. Though you do feel a sense of sympathy for him in the later stages of the film, as you realise that he was kept behind a year; and is the butt of a lot of jokes as a result.

This is also the film that gave us the lines, “alright, alright alright”, and “the thing I love about High School girls”, the latter of these is deeply problematic in a 2019 context. McConaughey’s character in the film is of a loser who can’t seem to move past being the cool guy in High School, he is easily the most interesting character in the whole film, mainly due to McConaughey’s fantastic performance.

Ultimately this film is a masterpiece, it perfectly sums up the teenage experience; as a result, it has become iconic. The performances are all fantastic, to the point where you forget they are actors, and instead, view them as the teens they are playing. I think it is pretty safe to say that anyone who watches this film will find something to relate to in it; a little part of themselves. This film is truly deserving of all the acclaim it has gotten in recent years and stands as one of the all-time cinema greats.

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

3 From Hell: Third Times The Charm.

3 From Hell, is a horror film directed by Rob Zombie; serving as the 3rd instalment in the Firefly Saga, carrying on from the Devils Rejects and House of 1000 Corpses.
The film takes place several years after the ending of Devils Rejects, with Otis, (Bill Moseley), Baby, (Sheri Moon Zombie) and Captain Spaulding, (Sid Haig), on death row. The Firefly family has become something in the wider pop culture of Zombie’s universe, and are revered by some as folk heroes; or, at least wrongly convicted. The meat of the film takes place when Otis is broken out of prison by his half brother the Midnight Wolfman, (Richard Brake), and the two try and find a way to break Baby out so the three of them can carry on their murder spree.

Before we get into this review, I want to say that I feel like people judge Zombies films without even seeing them when people hear it’s a Rob Zombie film, they needlessly prejudge it; most of the time deciding they’re not going to like it. I for one believe that yes Zombies’ filmography is an acquired taste but, if you can get past that you soon realise that there is no other film quite like a Rob Zombie film. Much like his horror contemporary Eli Roth it is impossible to not be aware that you’re watching one of his films.

I believe every gory, blood-soaked moment of 3 From Hell proves this in spades, there is something so pulpy and, grungy about Zombies films; insanity is not only full embraced but, celebrated. These characters evil and, monstrous as they’re, become almost anti-heroes at times and, you find yourself rooting for them; or at least I did.

It was nice to see all of the characters back on screen, and each had a memorable scene or, line; such as during the final showdown when Baby hunts down gunmen with a bow and arrow. There is a part of me that hopes that Zombie decides to leave these characters here and not try to carry on this series as I feel they’re left in a nice, ambiguous place, with the audience left to question what comes next.

The new characters are also a lot of fun with Jeff Daniel Phillips’ Warden being a fun moustache-twirling villain for the film’s first act. Phillips is both zany and insane while also being memorable; this is probably his best turn in a Zombie film to date.

Overall if you like Zombies’ films and, you like the Firefly saga, then you will like this. It is a nice final chapter for the series and, sends the killers off into the unknown at the end; leaving it all down to your imagination. I hope this ends the series as I don’t see where it can go from here, but this is Zombie’s finest film to date so if he has more like this I’m game.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Always Be My Maybe: Maybe more like Mediocrity

Always Be My Maybe is a romantic comedy film. The plot follows two people Sasha Tran, (Ali Wong), and Marcus Kim, (Randall Park), who were best friends when they were kids, but after a romantic mishap haven’t spoken in years; fate brings them into each other’s lives again but, will the romance return?

The romance the film portrays is very realistic, there is nothing fanciful about it; both the leads act very much like how normal people would in that situation, adding a nice sense of realism.

Both leads are likeable, Randall Park especially, who is basically just playing a younger version of his character from Fresh Off The Boat. Wong has a few good lines but, is often upstaged by Park’s charisma and charm. In terms of comedy, the film isn’t very strong, there were a few lines that made me smile, but nothing that made me laugh out loud.

The realistic drama of the film works far better than it’s comedy, with the reason that Marcus finds it hard to commit being masterfully done; you don’t see it coming, but when it is revealed it makes complete sense.

The plot is nothing new or, novel, it follows a standard will they won’t they rom-com plotline, the twists and turns are mostly standard and completely what you would expect, so it is very average in that respect. However, the charm of the leads makes up for the complete predictability.

There is one great surprise/reveal, which I wasn’t aware of as I hadn’t seen any of the trailers or, promotional materials. This surprise genuinely shocked me and instantly became my favourite moment of the film, this is, of course, the Keanu Reeves reveal. For those of you, that like me didn’t know, Reeves plays a fictionalised version of himself, the love rival of Marcus. Ali and all the other characters, except for Marcus, are completely smitten with him; which only serves to aggravate Marcus further.

Reeves is the highlight of the film, his presence makes the film, but also it takes overpowers everything else so in many ways it is a double-edged sword.

Overall Always Be My Maybe is a sweet if incredibly by the numbers affair. The leads have just enough charm and charisma to keep you watching, but only just. Reeves is spectacular as always but is barely used. The thing that hamstrings this film is its predictability, outside of Reeves’s cameo and Marcus’s later character development, everything else is easily guessable. In a sentence, the thing that stops this film from rising above mediocrity is that it’s scared to take chances.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Frozen 2: Into The Unknown?

Frozen 2 is an animated musical fantasy film; the plot takes place three years later and centers around Elsa, (Idina Menzel), finding out the origins of her powers.

The most notable thing about Frozen 2 is the distinct change in tone it is very much similar to the tonal shift that the Harry Potter films had; with Frozen 2 being much more mature and exploring far darker themes than Frozen.

The overall narrative choice of tieing Elsa’s powers into her being an elemental is an interesting choice. The other elementals, air, fire, earth and water are a mixed bag; fire is a cute salamander, literally to sell merchandise, air and earth are bland and full of plot holes; water is by far the best.

The songs, which are a key part, are even better this time around. ‘Into the Unknown’, is a better song than ‘Let it Go’, as it says more about Elsa’s character motivations while also serving to set up and foreshadow the later plot. That is something that applies to all the songs in this film they no longer just feel forced in because the films needs a song, which Frozen 1 is guilty of. Instead, most of the songs this time around serve a narrative purpose.

The characters except for Elsa and Olaf,(Josh Gad), who I will talk about separately, all feel sidelined in this film, being reduced to caricatures. Anna, (Kristen Bell), becomes so needy and, controlling with Elsa that she can’t let her out of her sight for more than five minutes; which leads to Anna repeatedly putting herself in danger and needing to be saved. Kristoff, (Jonathan Groff), who was already a background character in the last film is now given even less to do; making me ask the question why was he even included if they weren’t going to use him? His whole story line revolves around him wanting to propose to Anna, and it keeps going badly, does that sound funny to you? The first time it’s passable, maybe you think it’s just a throwaway gag, but no that is his whole arc; and it is incredibly unfunny. He does get a song this time around ‘lost in the woods’ which is surprisingly, but that is it. There are some other side characters but, they’re only featured briefly.

The two characters who I think are good in this film and progress in interesting ways are Elsa and Olaf. Elsa’s quest to find out who she is keeps us guessing most of the film, yes at times some of the twists along the way are painfully obvious, but I still respect how her character progresses and, the fact that by the end of the film she is no longer Queen. I think the side plot of her maybe having a romantic moment with a Northuldra woman, is brushed over far too quickly, but maybe we will get that in the inevitable Frozen 3? Olaf, who was mainly comic relief, here has an existential arc where he questions reality and the nature of change; which I thoroughly enjoyed and thought it added a nice bit of comedy for a more mature audience.

To conclude I think that this film could have been better if it was just an Elsa, and maybe Olaf, standalone film. Anna and Kristoff have so little to do why include them? The more mature story is definitely a plus as well as the ballsy ending, but the issues I have mentioned just drag it down for me.

3.5/5
Reviewed by Luke