Category: Reviews

Film Review-The Amazing Spider-Man 2

In “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” director Marc Webb demonstrates skill in crafting drama and romance, particularly in the chemistry between Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). However, the film’s action elements suffer due to a crowded plot with too many villains to juggle.

Jamie Foxx’s Electro is the primary antagonist, but his character lacks depth and fails to engage audiences. Foxx does his best to bring life to the role, but his efforts are hampered by the film’s attempts to balance multiple storylines.

The addition of Dane Dehaan as Harry Osborn falls short of expectations, with Dehaan’s performance lacking the charisma and charm that James Franco brought to the role in the previous trilogy. The Green Goblin’s appearance is also disappointing, with poorly executed makeup and design.

The film attempts to address the mystery surrounding Peter’s father, but this plot thread only adds to the cluttered narrative. The focus on Peter’s personal relationships with Gwen and Harry is more compelling and could have been developed further.

While the script and direction of the film may have left something to be desired, Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of Peter Parker/Spider-Man is a standout performance that shouldn’t be missed. Garfield expertly captures the character’s wit, courage, and vulnerability, delivering a nuanced and multi-layered performance that elevates the film.

One particularly memorable moment is a montage of Spider-Man swinging through New York, showcasing the hero in action across all seasons of the year. This sequence stands out as some of the best Spider-Man action ever captured on film, a testament to Garfield’s ability to fully embody the character and bring him to life in a thrilling and engaging way.

The film’s most effective sequence occurs in the third act, but the subsequent final battle with Rhino feels tacked on and undercuts the emotional impact of the previous scene.

Overall, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” suffers from an overloaded plot and a lack of focus, leaving little hope for the future of the franchise. If there is an Amazing Spider-Man 3, it won’t be directed by Marc Webb.

⭐️⭐️

Listen to our review of the first film here.

Rocky Blu-Ray release party

Rocky

To celebrate the release of Rocky:The Heavyweight Collection on blu ray, I attended a special screening held by Twentieth Century Fox.
The Heavyweight Collection features all 6 classic movies along with a ton of new extras.

Also in attendance was heavyweight boxer David “The Hayemaker”.
Haye has long held a passion for boxing. He began training at age six, at the now famous Fitzroy Lodge Boxing Club in South London.
He quickly excelled as a junior boxer and won several of his fights.

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Before the screening, Haye took part in Q&A with TalkSport host, Steve Bunce. Once Dave was seated and comfortable the inevitable question was asked: “how much do you like Rocky?”.
Haye replied that he didn’t start from the first one but the 3rd instalment of Rocky, which he loved and had seen a few times before he went back to watch the first two.

Haye was laid back and spoke candidly about the fight against ‘The Big Hairy Russian’ Wladimir Klitschko and the injury that made him retire from boxing.
The injury is still visible, Haye at times found it difficult to hold the mic.

When asked about his inspiration he mentioned a few boxers, including Rocky, played by Sylvester Stallone, but his main influence was Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers in history.



Haye went on to speak about his future plans of opening a Health Spa, in Dubai. He also aims to break into acting.

It was a great experience to have seen David Haye and listen to some of his experiences and his future plans, he expects to make a full recovery I hope he gets a chance to fight in the ring once again.

As a man of my age, it’s slightly embarrassing to admit that this was my first introduction into the world of Rocky Balboa. I look forward to going the distance with The Heavyweight collection

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The Rocky Heavyweight Collection on Blu-ray is out now from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

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‘Minister of Chance’ micropilot

Minister of Chance
Paul McGann as Durian in The Minister of Chance

The crowdfunded series The Minister of Chance makes its cinematic premiere as a ten-minute pilot film. It follows a successful series of six episodes for audio. As noted in my writeup last year, the story concerns nations brandishing an odd mix of cavalry and rocketry at each other, vying for control of this strange world’s future.

We get the first crucial turn of events in this short, which features Paul McGann as an ambassador to Tanto, an island nation. Tanto’s king is played by Tim McInnerny, last seen by Doctor Who fans in charge of ‘The Planet of the Ood.’ Neither of these Englishmen is wasted in the space given; it’s the second time this winter McGann has shone in short form cinema, having hiked up his profile last November in ‘Night of the Doctor.’

In this visual format, the series is finally allowed to wordlessly express its appealing mix of ‘period’ and futuristic. Writer/director Dan Freeman’s visual language is also a worthy addition to the franchise; the leads are surrounded by non-speaking activity that says much about the unfolding events.

Most importantly, this begins a tale with some bite, which justifies its existence beyond its ability to get funded. I was was pleased nonetheless to see some familiar names in the grateful roll of donors that concludes the short. The release of the micropilot is slated to follow an extended ‘preview period’ of access by donation at MinisterOfChance.com.

DVD REVIEW-Hannibal series 1

Pop quiz! Whose toes would you prefer to accidentally stepon: the well dressed, mild-mannered gentleman in the 3 piece suit, or the crazy-eyed, unshaven mental patient who is rocking in a corner, mumbling to himself?

Did you pick the mild mannered gentleman? Congratulations! You are now pâté.
That’s right; you’ve just pissed off Dr. Hannibal Lecter, everyone’s favourite rudeness-abhorring, people-eating psychiatrist. In the new series, simply titled “Hannibal”, he comes in the form of a devastatingly elegant Mads Mikkelsen, who appears in every episode dressed to the nines in either exquisitely tailored 3 piece suits or equally exquisitely tailored chef’s whites – although those whites do tend to beliberally splotched in blood and guts of questionable origin.

The series takes place in the years leading up to HannibalLecter’s capture by Will Graham (as detailed in the book and film Red Dragon). The characters meet in a the first episode, where retired FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), is drafted back in to help catch a serial killer by FBI Director Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne). Graham’s gift, his “genius”, lies in his ability to inhabit the minds of serial killers. This is illustrated in the show in the most literal fashion – Graham closes his eyes, and with a few soundtrackswooshes, we get to watch him mentally recreating each murder he investigates. His great fear, and the fear of everyone around him, is that he will lose the ability to separate himself from the minds of those killers. Concerned for Graham’s mental health, Crawford has him meet with noted psychiatrist Dr Hannibal Lecter. As Graham continues to work with the FBI on further cases, he becomes a regular patient of Dr Lecter, ostensibly so that Lecter can keep an eye on his mental state, but really so that Lecter can observe Graham’s ongoing breakdown, like a creepy kid with an ant farm.

Where Mikkelsen plays Lecter with a formidable amount of grace, poise and an almost reptilian lack of emotion, Dancy’sWill Graham is a scruffy, rumpled mess who veers from twitchy, manic rambling to near catatonia in the space between ad breaks. You can actually see the emotions writhing across his face as he tries to differentiate between imagination and reality. When not losing his mind chasing murderers, Graham is a soft-spoken, soft hearted kind of guy, who adopts stray dogs off of the street, so you know he’s a goodie. Unfortunately, his talent for seeing himself, in his mind’s eye, committing horrific murders is sending him right off the deep end.
And boy, howdy – are these murders ever horrific. I would not be surprised to learn that the writers have a running bet on who can come up with the most gruesome tableaux. This series gives us such memorable gems as Human AppendageJenga; The Devil’s Cello; Still Life with Regurgitated Ear; and one of my personal favourites, Sweetbabyjesus I Will Never Eat Mushrooms Again.

The show is beautifully framed and shot with composition soartistic some scenes are like watching a painting come to life. This includes not only the stomach-troubling crime scenes, aswe also get to watch as Dr Lecter prepares a series of beautifully presented gourmet meals, comprised mainly of human organs. As a bonus, we also see him feed these lavish meals to his nearest and dearest and completely unsuspecting friends. If you find yourself screaming “Don’t eat that, it’s people!” at the TV, rest assured that you are not alone.
Supporting characters include Caroline Dhavernas as Dr. Alana Bloom, concerned colleague and almost-but-not-quite love interest of Will Graham; Kacey Rohl as Abigail Hobbs, the daughter of a killer who impales women on deer antlers; Lara Jean Chorostecki as Freddie Lounds, a tabloid blogger so greasily hateful you’ll be wanting to introduce her to Francis Dollarhyde personally; and of course Gillian Anderson as BlondeScully. No, sorry. She plays Dr. Lecter’sown shrink with a possibly shady past, Dr. BedeliaDuMaurier.

The series overall is well-written and features excellent performances from the whole cast, and it ends on a cliffhangerthat will have you counting down til next year’s second series. Best of all, if you watch it right before dinnertime,“Hannibal” can also serve as one hell of a diet aid.

Extras:
Eat The Rude Featurette
First Look Featurette
Forensics 101 Featurette

Hannibal is released on DVD and Blu ray from September 2nd.

Episode 96:Kick-Ass (2010)

In which Martyn and Gerrod meet up with the intention to record a review of Kick-Ass. But, you know how it goes, they mostly talk about themselves.

As mentioned in this episode, we will be dropping the explicit tag for a few weeks.

The show can be accessed via different places, including Miro, Stiticher, Blubrry and Itunes.

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Review-The Lone Ranger

When John Reid (Armie Hammer) is on a train returning to his hometown, he 20130722-203159.jpgencounters Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner), an outlaw who is going to trial for his crimes. Tonto (Johnny Depp) is also on that train, having been arrested simply for being an Indian warrior. When the train is robbed and attacked by Butch’s gang, Cavendish escapes. A spirit horse revives Reid after he’s untimely death and it soon becomes Reid’s mission to bring Cavendish to justice.

The film fails in almost every aspect, the script is clunky and the tone never feels right.
The script isn’t the only problem, the movie relies on the charm of it’s leading men. The problem is, Hammer and Depp have absolutely no chemistry . The movie is dull and doesn’t deserve your time or money.

 

Blu ray review-Parker

Parker, a movie based on the character from Donald E. Westlake’s long-running series of novels, has seen many iterations in the past, but the character has never been permitted to keep his name. Jason Statham portrays the titular character in this film, a career criminal who only robs those who arguably deserve it. He’s mentored by Hurley (Nick Nolte), who puts him in touch with Melander (Michael Chiklis) and a few other like-minded thieves with the intent of robbing a county fair. However, things go awry when his partners go rogue and start opening fire on innocent bystanders. Melander then attempts to bully Parker into using his share of the take to invest in a bigger robbery. When Parker refuses, he is shot, dumped in a ditch, and left for dead. A passing family finds him and takes him to a nearby hospital. As he recovers, he seeks revenge on the gang, who are now living in Palm Beach.

While in Palm Beach, Parker meets Leslie (Jennifer Lopez), a down-on-her-luck estate agent who has recently moved back in with her mother. She is about to have her car repossessed and is in danger of losing her job if she doesn’t make a sale. Parker poses as a wealthy Texan looking to buy property, but Leslie thinks something is off about him (probably Statham’s poor Texan accent). Parker soon reveals his true intentions to Leslie, and she agrees to help him for a cut of the profits.

Despite being promoted as an action-comedy, the trailers for Parker were misleading. Statham and Lopez are not the new Riggs and Murtaugh, and the film is not a comedy. However, the pair do have chemistry, and it’s refreshing that Lopez isn’t a love interest for Statham’s character, as he is in a fully committed long-term relationship.

Statham’s performances have improved with every film, and he has an instant likability that some actors would have difficulty pulling off. However, the actors in Parker are let down by the script and direction. The writers can’t decide what kind of man they want Parker to be, and the director, Taylor Hackford, comes across as a first-time director. You would never believe he had directed an Oscar-nominated film.

The blood and violence in Parker are a bit over-the-top, and the film almost becomes a laughable parody, which is fine for something like The Expendables, a love letter to over-the-top action films, but not for Parker. Overall, the film is a clichéd mess and could have easily lost 30-40 minutes. There are characters that don’t really fit in the movie or even need to be there. It feels incredibly forced when we’re asked to feel emotion for them.

⭐️⭐️

The extras include an informative commentary by Director Taylor Hackford in which he discusses the source novel, casting, production, and effects.