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Spaceman (2024)
A surprisingly lovely film
This was a beautiful insight into humanity, with the unusual twist of it coming through a performance by Adam Sandler. I am not usually a fan of his work, finding him to be often crass and juvenile. However, in this film he showed his deeper side, with a performance that had me close to tears several times.
The deeper themes of the piece are of selfishness, love and loss, told through a story of friendship and healing. The central characters are a conflicting duo, of human and something else, something wonderful (well, unless you have a fear of spiders!) that helps the human find healing of his own damaged self.
In real terms, this is preposterous, but if you enjoyed the George Cloony version of Solaris or have any warmth in your heart for the stranger aspects of 2001, then this film may well give you something. There are no ridiculous space battles, or evil aliens trying to destroy humanity. Instead, there is a lot of peace in this gentle and rather beautiful movie. The end did not answer the main question of the film, is Jacob alone on his ship, because he was alone long before he left the planet. With a satisfying, poignant end and some truly beautiful visuals, this film deserves your time. Think of it as a fable though, rather than a space movie though.
Kill Me Three Times (2014)
Fun if bleak comedy
I picked this one up because I saw it had Simon Pegg in it and I have been following his work since Spaced. Before we get too far into this, I will add that I found the film entertaining, there were some moments that I genuinely laughed at. However, there were also a couple of places where the film sadly misses quite hard.
The convoluted plot makes several twists and turns before we meet a truly evil Bryan Brown, who sadly is wasted before he can shine in this story. He plays his role with real brooding menace, I will admit that I really wanted to see him develop into a scary bad guy. It was literally a shot in the throat when he is taken out of the story in a really silly way and does not even let off a shot. Such a waste of a truly talented man, playing a really dark character. I felt that the atmosphere that Brown gave off could have led him to the sort of cold darkness of Anton Chigurh, one of my favourite bad guys.
Simon Pegg was wonderfully vile throughout, subtly slimy and adding layer upon layer to his character, the almost, but not quite professional hit-man. However, the numerous failed close up shootings seem incongruous with a man who is apparently able to shoot a target from a long distance through the wrist. As a dark comic character though, he is despicable and very enjoyable.
The rest of the cast were simply OK, leaving Pegg and Brown as clearly the better players here. A usually good Alice Braga, seemed like she was coasting through a fair bit of this film, which was a shame. She is usually a natural and empathic actress, but I felt very little for her character in this movie.
One aspect of the film that I found hilarious, although I doubt it was intentional was the boot of the hit man as he stepped from the car. How many times have we seen this shot in a serious film? Maybe it was a deliberate cliché, but the film did not seem clever enough for such an in joke.
Just before the end of the movie I realised that this one reminded me of one of Pegg's other films. Who Saw Big Nothing? Another story of some criminals who fail to get away with the crime, resulting in a plot twisting caper. Yeah, there are some similarities, but so what? They both have their funny moments and both movies are guilty of wasting an otherwise excellent actor who could have added more to the story.
If you see this one on the cheap section of the supermarket DVD shelves, then pick it up. You can put it on your own shelf next to Big Nothing, just like I did.
Me and My Mates vs. The Zombie Apocalypse (2015)
A little gem of a movie
I bought this movie on DVD from the bargain section in a local supermarket, for the princely sum of £3. I did not expect much at that price, but given that I quite like Jim Jefferies, I was prepared to give it a shot.
What I was actually presented with was a charming and funny low budget film made by people who clearly love the genre. There are several in jokes throughout the movie and the usual robust Australian humour, all of which made the movie really rather funny in places.
However (and be prepared for a spoiler here) the demise of Jefferies is a beautifully silly and funny moment, which did make me laugh. At the end of the movie, the on going conversation between the last surviving cast of Greg Fleet and Alex Williamson is not only funny, but also clever. As Williamson stumbles over his words, it is hard to tell if it is a cleverly written joke or just a very lucky fumble. Either way, it had me laughing again.
This is not a high budget movie, it is however made with love. The cast clearly loved every moment and to be honest I rather enjoyed every silly moment. One of which came when Roy (Fleet) is explaining to Darryl (Williamson) why he does not like his daughters's boyfriend this is actually a clever joke and it does put a switch on how we the viewer think about the characters. It is true that this movie is not as sharp as Shaun of the Dead and it is not as bleak as Zombieland, but it does have a charm of it's own. Think back to what it was that we loved about the original Romero movies, those low budget gore fests that were about the love of storytelling, rather than fantastic visuals. This movie has a similar heart in it and although it won't appeal to everyone, it appealed to me and I enjoyed it. Best £3 I have spent in ages.
Warehouse 13: Endless (2014)
Yes, I cried
I started with Warehouse 13 after seeing Eureka and that although not brilliant was a bit of fun. With this series it took me a little while to really fall in love with the main characters, so when the end came I was a bit surprised at how hard that hit me.
First of all though, why on earth did they cut the season to six episodes? The stories were always fun, I loved Claudia, Steve and Artie the most, but I could sense a bit of writers truth in the final story, I do not think that even they wanted it to end.
Every actor in this episode played their part beautifully and most moving of all was the character played by Aaron Ashmore, who I genuinely believed had tears in his eyes when viewing the memories of Mrs Frederic, played by CCH Pounder.
There is a real humanity to the actor Saul Rubinek, I have seen him play several less than savoury characters with equal diligence, but it was with this final episode that I wished that I could spend some more time with Artie and his team. Even the intimate moments with Pete played by Eddie McClintock and Myka played by Joanne Kelly were nicely done, if a little rushed due to running out of time.
The final scene of Claudia played by Allison Scagliotti is a neat finish to the series, but it still leaves that feeling that the end was rushed and this is deeply unfair to us viewers who had genuinely fallen in love with this cast and invested time in the series that lead to this point.
I am lucky in that I have the DVD box set of all five seasons, but it will always feel a shame to me that they ended the series so suddenly, especially after the fantastic season four. Maybe they wanted to leave on a high point so that they would always have those loving memories of the fans and a high point it was, the tears that streaked my face proved this. I am deeply sorry to see this go because I loved the characters HG, Steve, Claudia and Artie, they felt like family and I actually miss them now!
A massive well done to the cast and crew behind Warehouse 13, your efforts were appreciated.
Elektra (2005)
Great film, but it seems unloved
I have watched Daredevil once and that was one time too many, Elektra though I have enjoyed many times and now have on DVD. It saddens me that the criticism of this film is so harsh, even allegedly from it's star.
The movie is brooding, often dark and the action is intense. Characters are well conceived and the actors chosen play those roles well. Garner plays a formidable Elektra, but also a human version that has flaws and fears. The human side of her comes to the forefront in this movie and there are not many actresses who could have portrayed such darkness.
Lead bad guy Will Yub Lee is as beautiful as he is terrifying and his final fight scene with Elektra is a dignified end to such a powerful character. As characters from the Marvel Universe, there is always going to be the unbelievable side to them, but in this film the story carries them all well.
The animation of the bird of prey returning to Tattoo's chest is beautiful and Tythoid's first attack on Elektra is scenically beautiful with the falling black feathers. In truth I like the Hand more than I like Abby and her Father.
I like this film, there are a great many things about it that make it excellent and as such I gave it nine out of ten. This quiet little film should be discovered and loved for the classic it is.
Lords of London (2014)
Excellent if unusual film
I saw this movie as a DVD that I picked up in a sale basket and to be honest I did not expect much given the price but being fond of Winstone, I thought that for three pounds I could not lose out. This has probably been one of the better choices I have made for a while, because while the film at first confuses the viewer, the tone changes as a dark bleak certainty is more than hinted at.
Ray Winstone is as always powerful, if not utterly terrifying, the implication that his character is capable of "things other men are not" is brutally laid out in this tragically dark movie about family.
Although the story arc becomes quickly apparent to a switched on viewer, the fear of the brutality that some of the characters can unleash makes viewing occasionally an uncomfortable experience, but persevere through this because the end is most unexpected.
Snuff Box (2006)
Strange sweet fun with a shocking cutting edge
From the shocking opening scene to the oddly moving final song at the end of the series, Snuffbox will make you laugh at the strangeness of its writing and then gasp as suddenly it takes a vicious dark turn.
Not every sketch is what it appears from the outset and the use of what would normally be clichéd jokes as deliberate points to then rip from the norm is not only clever, but original if occasionally disgusting.
This is not comedy for the every day, this is not comedy for those who enjoy the nice sort of story that has happy couples having the vicar around for tea. This is comedy for those with a dark heart who enjoy exploring the dangerous side of humour.
So if you can find a gory death funny, can laugh at obsessive behaviour and are not easily offended, then this is for you. Not only that, the music is worthy of a listen on its own and it has to be said that Berry has the most unusual yet tuneful voice.
This show is not as nihilistically brutal as say Chris Morris' Jam, but it is still at the black edge of British comedy and is worthy of your time.
Freebird (2008)
This is the biker movie I always wanted to see
This film about three mates on a bike trip was so well done that at times I forgot it was a film and felt like I was out with my mates. Such is the nature of this film, the scene in the pub when they have the giggles felt like moments from my own life. Although I am a biker, I do not think that you need to be a biker to love this film, but as a biker you have that extra understanding of the sub plots.
As far as the humour goes, this film is gentle, very funny and at moments it tugs on your heart strings. The bikes of the three main characters fit them perfectly and the pannier scene in the services had me in fits. Remember that this film is entertainment, it gets you away from a dreary winter evening of not riding your bike and it fills your heart with the love of the open road and your biker mates. If you are not a biker, you may want to be one by the end. It does not have the nasty edge of Sons of Anarchy, but is a good picture of the British Biker.
I loved this movie so much that I had to have the DVD set. Well worth the purchase and will give a lot of pleasure over the years as my own riding continues into the sunset.
After Earth (2013)
A quiet gentle film
Unlike many other reviewers, I enjoyed this film. It progresses along nicely, the scenery is beautiful and the premise works well enough. The acting of both the main characters fits the story well and as a young actor Jaden Smith does the job well enough to be believable. I have seen many other films that do not do as well in the story telling as this one.
So would I recommend this film? Yes actually, give it a chance and let the scenery take you on a journey while the story unfolds. The story is at heart about the acceptance by the characters of each other and how they learn to forgive and love each other once again. As such it has a gentle pace with an undercurrent of emotion that I enjoyed, and for those of you with children you may well recognise some of the moments they share.