Paddington Review

Hello :-)

I don’t know if it’s the same for you, but nothing from my childhood is good anymore. Fireman Sam is all CGI weirdness, Pokémon have got a whole load of new Pokémons I don’t recognise and don’t even get me started on the recent Postman Pat movie… Childhood nostalgia is the most potent kind and when a classic like Paddington is brought up to date it’s always going to be met with trepidation.

Thankfully Paddington is absolutely lovely.  It’s a gorgeous mix of old and new, perfectly charming and really, really funny.

A young bear from Peru with a penchant for marmalade travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself at Paddington station, he begins to realise that life in the big smoke is not all he had imagined. This is until he meets the Brown family, who see the tag around his neck that reads ‘Please look after this bear’ offer him a place to stay.

The set up is so marvellous Paddington will have even the biggest curmudgeon on side within minutes. The brilliant newsreel footage, the sweet relationship between Uncle Pastuzo, Aunt Lucy and Paddington and all the little details that round the world out. It’s such a well realised vision, you can’t help but care about these characters and they’re only on screen for a few minutes.

The comedy is top notch. There are some lovely visual gags, some good old fashioned slapstick and the vast majority of the material works on a level for children and parents alike. The script is great and bounces the narrative along at a perfect pace to keep even the most distractible children engaged.

Paddington is anchored by sterling performances from the central cast. The Browns are wonderful; Sally Hawkins is a delight as ever, Hugh Bonneville looks like he’s having a whale of a time as the uptight patriarch and Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin are great as the Brown juniors. They make for a convincing family unit with whom you want to spend time.

There are loads of lovely supporting turns delivered by the cream of British comedy. Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Matt Lucas, Alice Lowe, Simon Farnaby and a whole host of other faces you’ll recognise.

Nicole Kidman is brilliant as the film’s villain. With her sights so firmly set on our young bear she is a genuinely scary baddie, like a taxidermy obsessed T1000. She properly throws herself into Millicent’s snake skin, stiletto heeled boots and it’s marvellous.

Ben Whishaw was an eleventh hour replacement for Colin Firth as the voice of the eponymous bear and I can’t begin to tell you how good of a decision that was. Whishaw has a voice as soothing as tea and buttered crumpets but still possesses the youthful exuberance you need in a children’s character like Paddington. The character’s CGI work is really good, you soon forget you’re watching a cartoon bear and fall a little bit in love with him.

Paddington isn’t a Christmas film (well… there’s some snow and a bit of a Christmas tree right at the very end) but it does have the warm glow of something like Miracle on 34^th Street (the nice bits, obviously not the bits where they’re trying to section him). When the biggest Christmas film we have this year is the hideous Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey something as delightful as Paddington is a thing to be cherished.

I hate the misconception that films for children are low hanging fruit, that patently isn’t true. It’s hard to keep kids engaged for an hour and a half, let alone entertain their parents at the same time but Paddington does both. It’s a lovely surprise that stays faithful to Michael Bond’s much-loved books but gives us laughs for a modern audience.

It’s gorgeous, if you’re looking for something to take the kids to while they’re off this Christmas, it’s perfect. Just don’t blame me if you have a hankering for marmalade on toast afterwards…

That’s all lovely, now let’s have some

Reasons to be Cheerful…

1. Colin Trevorrow has sent us all a Christmas present! A badass picture of Chris Pratt and a Raptor anyone?

2. The trailer for the new Pixar flick Inside Out has been released :-) Cars 2 was a bit all over the place but I still have love for Pixar and this looks like it could be a lot of fun.

3. In more trailer news the red band trailer for Kingsman is out. It’s usually a cause for concern when a film’s release gets pushed back (this was originally intended for release in October 2014) but this looks good. It’s going to be a nice bit of counter programming for Valentine’s day.

Well that’s all for today.

Goodbye till next time :-)

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Interstellar Review

Hello :-)

In a world where franchises rule, Christopher Nolan movies are an event. I struggle to think of another Director working today who commands audience attendance as much as he does. With a heavy trust placed on in-camera effects Nolan creates exciting, cerebral blockbusters that consistently make money. In his most recent offering the man behind the Dark Knight Trilogy boldly goes to a galaxy far, far away.

In Interstellar the Earth is on its arse. Crops have been destroyed by blights, the population have abandoned their careers and become farmers as food levels are critically low and the human race has abandoned any kind of technological advancement in favour of basic survival.  Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a former NASA test pilot and engineer who despairs of the death of curiosity. When he and his daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy) accidentally discover a secret NASA base, Cooper is enlisted by his former mentor Professor Brand (Michael Caine) to lead a space mission that carries the weight of humanity on its shoulders.

The trouble with being so talented is that Mr Nolan has made a rod for his own back.  We expect so much from him that when he produces films that aren’t entirely successful there’s a collective disappointment and more negativity than is maybe deserved. Interstellar is ambitious but flawed and, in the context of his previous successes, is sadly being viewed as a bit of a failure.

I adore the film’s set up. There’s something almost funny about the idea that the end of Earth will be utterly mundane. So much of our apocalyptic fiction is based around the idea of robots, zombies and or other fantastical ways meet our demise that we rarely give credence to the idea that the earth could end with a whimper. That dust and dirt puts paid to humanity’s best laid plans feels realistic and the nods towards retrogressive attitudes and humanity’s collective fatigue seem totally believable.

Nolan creates tension in some beautifully arranged set pieces but he just as easily takes it away. The constant back and forth between our intrepid explorers and their earth-bound counterparts is really sloppily edited. As soon as something dramatic happens up in Space the action almost immediately shifts back to earth, puncturing the momentum completely. Don’t get me wrong, what’s happening of Terra Firma is interesting, it’s just not as interesting as what’s happening to our protagonist in another galaxy.

You may be distracted from the film’s weird pacing though, because Interstellar is absolutely beautiful. You could take any shot, slap it on your wall and call it art. Nolan’s love of in-camera effects lends Interstellar a gritty aesthetic creating a visual connection to the film’s spiritual predecessors like Alien and Silent Running. As you’ve almost definitely been told, if you can, see it in IMAX. The spectacle is like nothing else I’ve ever seen.

It’s no secret that the idea for Interstellar has been batting around since as early as 2006 and back then it was helmed by Steven Spielberg. The recurring motif of parents and children in Spielberg’s work is well documented but it’s also central to Nolan’s movies. Coop and Murph are the central pairing and their relationship is totally convincing, Matthew McConaughey and Mackenzie Foy delivering note perfect performances. That development pays off in one devastating scene where Coop, after being kicked in the arse by relativity, watches years of videos from home. It would take a stony heart indeed not to be moved by that; me? I cried like a child.

The Coop/Murph dynamic is the most moving one in the film but in other attempts to tug at the heartstrings fall a little flat. Poor Anne Hathaway, she’s lumbered with the worst dialogue in the movie, a schmaltzy speech about how physics is the language of love. Bless her, she gives it her all but no one believes that, least of all the audience.

In terms of concept Interstellar makes Inception look like Noddy. There’s something rather wonderful about the notion that a film maker would dare try and get audiences to grapple with the idea of general relativity.  There are lofty aspirations at the heart of Interstellar and for someone like me who dreamed of working for NASA as a child, films like this are to be cherished. Showing audiences the wonder of space travel isn’t just entertaining, it’s inspirational.

The crux of the problem is that Interstellar, much like a black hole, is too bloody dense. Clocking in at two hours 49 minutes you’d think we’d glide from one scene to another but instead it feels as though Nolan is trying to cram as much as he can into every second. Space jargon, emotional cues, plot exposition, action sequences, musings about 5^th dimensions; it all comes flying at you so thick and fast it leaves no time for more reflective character moments. I appreciate Nolan’s ambition to elevate blockbuster cinema and aspire for it to be more but never underestimate the power of breathing space in a film.

Interstellar is less abstract than the comparisons to 2001: A Space Odyssey would suggest. It’s primarily a story about parental love, the way we’re utterly screwing our planet and the power of human relationships, all seen through the lens of space travel. Matthew McConaughey and Mackenzie Foy are fantastic, the visuals are stunning and in general I liked the movie, but there’s no getting away from the fact that it has issues.

To say that Interstellar is awful is wrong but to say it’s a masterpiece is also off the mark. Would we feel differently about it if it had come from someone other than the man behind Inception and The Dark Knight? We will never know, but I feel as though, much like in the film itself, time will be a key factor. After the dust has settled will Interstellar be praised as a flawed masterpiece or will conventional wisdom label it a ‘Turkey’? We’ll have to wait and see.

This one deserves a bit of discussion so if you have any thoughts on Interstellar feel free to leave them below.

Now for a couple of…

Reasons to be cheerful :-)

1. We have a proper trailer for 2015’s Jurassic World! The Park is open and I can’t wait to see it :-) 

2. The Pitches are back! Behold the trailer for Pitch Perfect 2!

That’s all for today :-)

Goodbye till next time!

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Films, Doctor Who and a bit of an Update :-)

Hello :-)


Just a quick update about reviews and such like.


The lovely people at tvandfilmreview.com  and CultBox have been nice enough to let me write for them so that's exactly what I've been doing for the last month :-)


If you'd like to have a look the the film reviews I've been writing you can find them here:

Hector and the Search for Happiness

The Boxtrolls

Gone Girl


And if you want to have a look at my reviews for series 8 of Doctor who you can find them here:

Deep Breath & Into the Dalek

Robot of Sherwood

Listen

Time Heist

The Caretaker


And if you want to read my wish list for Downton Abbey series 5 (yes I'm a Downton fan... deal with it) or my look back at the excellent Green Wing you can take a look at those too :-)


I'm still going to keep posting here but I'll link to my other bits and pieces as well.


That's all for today :-)


Goodbye till next time!
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"I am going to die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy"

Hello :-)

Marvel are the bookends of the 2014 blockbuster season. They kicked things off in April with ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ and now they’re wrapping it up with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.

‘Guardians…’ follows five outlaws in a fight to save the planet of Xandar from a band of rebel aliens. After scavenger Peter Quill aka Starlord (Chris Pratt) steals a mysterious orb he finds a bounty on his head put there by space pirate Yondu (Michael Rooker). Super Assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is sent after Starlord to retrieve the orb by Kree rebel leader and azure nutjob Ronan (Lee Pace).

That all seems like a paint-by-numbers search for the MacGuffin and it’s hard not to make it sound like that when you’re laying out the basics of the plot. Thankfully Marvel, in their infinite wisdom, have made ‘Guardians…’ much more than that.

There is a quite a lot of setting up elements that will be tied into the Marvel Cinematic Universe at a later date but it’s done in a super fun way. In fact everything about this film is super fun. It’s got the same irreverent humour as the Iron Man movies and Marvel seems to be relishing their reputation as the perky yang to DC’s moody yin.

It’s gorgeous to look at as well. In terms of colour it reminded me of the opening scenes of ‘Finding Nemo’ when Nemo is on the back of Mr Ray with his class mates. The sheer amount of colour and vibrancy in each frame just adds to this fairground of a movie.

Although rumour has it that (and if the recent Ant Man furore is anything to go by) Marvel like to keep their Directors on a tight leash, it must be said that James Gunn’s name is printed through the centre of ‘Guardians…’ like a stick of rock. I’m a fan of his previous output and it’s lovely to see that he’s been able to channel his brand of humour into this project.

Another pleasant surprise is how even handed the film is with its characters. The film’s focus could so easily have been Starlord and whilst he is a major player, Gunn hasn’t short changed the other four Guardians.

The performances are fantastic across the board. Chris Pratt continues on his upward career trajectory as Peter Quill. With a gorgeous mix of charm and arrogance if you aren’t a bit in love with him now, you will be by the end of the film.

Zoe Saldana is great as Gamora. I did start to panic when the film appeared to be taking her character in a particularly clichéd direction but thankfully they didn’t go through with it. Her being pitched against Nebula is nice and their final fight scene is fantastic.

A pleasant surprise is Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer. As a Professional Wrestler, I wasn’t expecting much but Bautista puts in a good show with a nicely deadpan, fantastically physical performance.

Stealing the show is the wonderful tag team of Rocket and Groot. Many (including myself) had doubts about Bradley Cooper’s casting as the voice of Rocket but he’s brilliant. Consistently getting the best gags there’s also another level to the character that’s surprisingly poignant, not bad going for an anthropomorphic Raccoon. Groot managed to steal the heart of everyone in the screening I attended, in spite of his limited vocabulary. If you have children to buy for this Christmas be prepared to be buying a fair amount of Groot based merchandise.

There’s a lovely set up to Thanos as the big bad with Ronan as his underling, in a way not too dissimilar to the Chitauri and Loki in ‘The Avengers’. I’m enjoying this Puppet Master approach to the character and it’ll be good to see how Taneleer Tivan aka The Collector fits into the jigsaw too.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is a riot. Super fun but not at the expense of character development, this film is the love child of Star Wars and Indiana Jones with a liberal helping of R-rated language. This is a much over used phrase but ‘Guardians…’ really is a game-changer, expanding Marvel’s horizons beyond our own pale blue dot and into the stars.

 And, you know, a foul mouthed Raccoon shooting guns… what’s not to love?!?!

After that fun lets have some

Reasons to be cheerful :-)

1. Frozen are getting an animated short due out in 2015! For those who can’t wait for a second dose of Arendelle it looks like you’ll be getting it in Spring next year :-)

2. Teaser Trailer for Agents of Shield Series 2! I’m beside myself waiting to find out what’s happened to Fitz…

3. New characterposters are out for Mockingjay Part 1. They’re all very dark and moody but if you’re anything like me your first thought is “OH MY GOD IT’S FULTON REED!” (Fulton Reed of the Mighty Ducks was my first childhood crush!)

That’s all for today :-)

Goodbye till Next time!

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"There's only one guy in this world who can save us! There's only one frog who can restore order, bring justice, and set things right!"

Hello :-)

We all know I’m a huge Muppets fan and, following 2011’s comeback film ‘The Muppets’ I was eagerly awaiting this year’s follow up ‘Muppets: Most Wanted’. I recently re-watched the film on a flight to Greece and it's currently out on DVD and Blu-Ray so here are my thoughts :-)

We rejoin our felty friends exactly where we left them at the end of ‘The Muppets’. The gang hear they’ve been given a sequel and decide to capitalise on this with a world tour at the suggestion of their new manager Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais). The Muppets unwittingly get involved in a crime spree which leads to Kermit having his identity stolen by the world’s biggest criminal and getting locked up in a Russian gulag.

I’ve been back and watched ‘The Muppets’ many times since I first saw it and, as I said in my original post, the ending is a a problem. Also the ‘Maniacal Laugh’ gag that runs throughout just doesn’t work; there’s no set up to it and, like I said, the ending is so rushed they gloss over the resolution that the bowling ball to the head actually cured Tex Richman of his inability to laugh. But still, flawed as it is, I love it. With this in mind, it’s quite a statement to say that I think ‘Muppets: Most Wanted’ is on a par with, if not slightly better than it’s predecessor.

The main sea change is a shift in terms of human involvement from the first film to this one. Where ‘The Muppets’ was quite Gary and Mary-centric, in this film we deal almost entirely with the Muppets. This puts me in mind of the original Henson films, all of which were Muppet led and I love that.

There is a raft of brilliant cameos. At times it does feel a bit like you’re playing a live action version of Where’s Wally but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The three main human presences are Ricky Gervais’s Dominic Badguy (it’s pronounced Badge-ey…), Tina Fey’s Gulag officer Nadya and Ty Burrell as Jean Pierre Napoleon, a French Interpol inspector who works with CIA agent Sam Eagle on finding Constantine.

Fey is dealt a bit of a bum deal, she gets a pretty decent song but other than that she isn’t really left with much to do. Gervais is an admitted Muppet fanboy and you can see the joy in his face from start to finish. My favourite is Ty Burrell. Jean Pierre (a role originally meant for Christoph Waltz) is brilliant and his scenes with Sam Eagle are highlights in a film full of chuckles.

The songs are all strong and, importantly, all original. Admittedly there's nothing here as life affirming as 'Life's a Happy Song', as heart wrenching as 'Pictures in My Head' or as potentially award winning as 'Man or Muppet' but how can you not love a song called "I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)"?

The film is a machine gun of gags, firing one after another; as with the previous film it doesn’t matter if one of them doesn’t land because there’ll be another one along almost straight away for you. There’s also something for everyone. If you thought the ‘Fart Shoes’ gag in the last film was the peak of comedy there’ll be something in here for you, if it’s jokes about French stereotypes and the European working times directive, we’ve got you covered too.

The song says “everybody knows the sequel's never quite as good” but if that is the case I don’t think anyone’s told James Bobin. There’s slightly less heart-string tugging here but that hole is filled by some classic comedy and an increase in Muppet screentime.

With disappointing box office figures it’ll be interesting to see where the future of the Muppets is heading. Nicholas Stoller and James Bobin have both expressed an interest in returning to write (and in Bobin’s case direct) a third instalment to this reboot but there has also been talk of the Muppets returning to their televisual roots. Either way I’m interested to see the Muppets “do it all again…”

Now I fancy some…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)

San Diego Comic Con happened the other week so there’s been a rush of news heading out from California and stuff being released to coincide with the biggest dates in popular culture. Here are some of my favourite titbits.

1. Teaser Trailer for Mockingjay! For those who haven’t read the books ‘Mockingjay’ is a massive departure from the previous two Hunger Games instalments. It’s the most political book and structurally it’s completely different. Some love it, some hate it; I’m in the former group. I must admit I had my reservations when I found out they were going to split the book in two and I am still a little bit anxious that the film is going to be a bit bottom heavy in terms of action. I guess we’ll have to wait and see :-)

2. First picture of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman has emerged. I quite like it as far as female Superhero costumes go. Yes, it’s a bit Xena but then Xena itself was influenced by Wonder Woman so I suppose, to borrow an adage, pop culture will eat itself. I have issues with female superhero costumes in general, the lack of material, the impracticalities of a strapless/plunging neckline and don't even get me started on high heels, that can wait for another time…

3. New posters, images and a Trailer for 'Horns'. This looks super interesting! I like the idea (it sounds like a gothic take on the Green Clarinet sketch from 'That Mitchell and Webb Look') , I like the posters and obviously I like the central casting of Daniel Radcliffe very much looking forward to this :-)

4. Finally we’ve had the first posters from ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and they’re pretty sexy! They all join together to make one big banner (how very apt) which you can pour over in great detail here.

The plot sounds exciting, something we haven’t really hit upon before in a Superhero movie. The notion that the world is pretty big and six people in snazzy suits are going to have a tough time policing it. I’m looking forward to it, we’re all looking forward to it. Bring on Earth’s mightiest heroes :-)

That’s everything for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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