Well, I’m happy to stand corrected, once again. This Saturday schedule-filler was a last-minute addition to round a day’s viewing out to ridiculous levels, and one I’d previously avoided, its trailer having put me off with character-models I couldn’t warm to and a showcasing of the film’s cheesiest comedic moments, stripped of context. But as pretty much everyone else has already noticed, Early Man is far, far better than its promo-material. It also wasn’t lost on me that although I watched this in the company of four other people, Aardman’s animation was in its fifth week of release - so the same numbers I’d shared a room with for Gringo on its opening day. But I digress...
Nick Park brings the fun once again in a tale of stone-age cavemen who find they’ve got to battle invading bronze-age pioneers by challenging them to a game of football. At its heart, this is the archetypal British underdog movie, with all the wit and charm we’ve come to expect from the Bristol’s finest. I also love that the word ‘crap’ has found its way into a PG movie, with precisely the correct colloquial usage and intonation. We need more of this.
A fantastic voice-cast (led by Maisie Williams, Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston) commit to their roles unreservedly, indicating the high esteem in which Aardman is held. There are near-constant smiles, chuckles and laughs, both scripted and visual, and the density of writing should reward re-watching for some time to come.
That said, I didn’t quite find the wry silliness of The Pirates! here, nor the timeless, silent-movie magic of Shaun The Sheep. Although given that this might be the first time I’ve tolerated extended exposure to football since I was about twelve, it’s entirely probable that the sporting-core of the movie was never going to fully connect. Best case example: I got the arch subtext about the corporate nature of European soccer, I’m just not bothered about that either way.
But above all else, it’s just awe-inspiring that feature length stop-animation still exists and is created with such painstaking passion and precision. The scale of the production here (both organisationally and physically) is nothing short of astounding.
Early Man may not be their best work, but Aardman’s Sunday-players are still in a league of their own.
The other Aardman animations, including their TV work.
Well, I imagine you've probably seen it by now as everyone was on-board except me.
This will be a good rainy-day DVD.
In all fairness, it's not.
Nope.
There isn't.
Level 2: This film features the voice of Mariam Margolyes, who was in the Black Adder episode 'The Queen of Spain's Beard' along with Brian 'Boss Nass' Blessed.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Thor: Ragnarok (2D / second-pass / SPOILERS)
Cert: 12A / 130 mins / Dir. Taika Waititi / Trailer
And so, I somehow find myself with surprisingly little to say about Thor: Ragnarok. Especially odd given a) how much I loved the film the first time around, and b) how long it's taken me to schedule this second-pass despite singing the praises of the film to everyone in between*1, to the point where I've missed the 3D screenings*2, so have only seen this most psychedelic of Marvel movies in two dimensions.
And this shorter-than-usual review is certainly not because I enjoyed the movie any less the second time; quite the opposite in fact. The self-defeating mechanics of the villains in Surtur and Hela made more sense when viewed from a distance, as that's basically something that's spread out over the whole screenplay but quickly explained by Thor in the middle of the final battle. It's a neat solution to Marvel's usual problem of either nerfing the bad guys and making them too easily beaten, or having them survive and making the heroes look weak. Because everybody loses here, we all win.
And speaking of losses, I also love how much has changed at the end of Ragnarok. I've mentioned on occasion that despite enjoying The Dark World very much, not a lot has developed by the time the credits roll other than Frigga sailing off the waterfall and Odin being missin-in-action. This time round, Thor's lost Mjölnir, lost his hair, lost an eye, lost his father (for real this time), lost his home and very nearly lost his people. And yet the film is so resolutely hopeful in its final moments.
Mark Mothersbaugh's score stood out a little more this time, too. I still maintain that the orchestral sections are mainly Loud Film-Type Noises™, but I'm loving the more disco-infused synth tracks which evoke the iconic Scarface soundtrack by Giorgio Moroder. Although I also still maintain that the Led Zeppelin moments are greater than either of those.
The under-writing of Hela's character is more evident on re-watching, with the Goddess of Death never really making it past the pantomime-villain marker, even though she's personally responsible for a considerable number of screen-fatalities. Also, some of Cate Blanchett's ADR-work for the character is dreadful; the sync is word-perfect, but the emotion in her 'final' voice doesn't match the face she was acting with on-set. But I got an extra chuckle from watching Matt Damon in the theatre-scene, as it occurred to me that this is the second time he's played Loki, the first being in Kevin Smith's Dogma.
But all in all this is magnificent, Marvel reaching further than before and still effortlessly securing their grasp. Ragnarok is a great end to a great year for the studio (cinematically, at least)…
All of The Marvels.
Hell, yes.
Hell, yes.
This film will be on the front-page of many CVs for some time to come.
A little bit, but not enough for you to worry about.
Another pass; still didn't hear one. Not impressed.
Level 1: As well as what could be described as an absolute shit-ton of visual and audio effects crew, this film features the guy who's the voice of Gar Saxon.
*1 Come on, I'm a busy blogger. I can't very well go swanning off to watch repeat-viewings of movies when things like A Bad Moms Christmas are awaiting the scalpel of criticism. [ BACK ]
*2 The 3D/RealD showings traditionally play for the first two weeks of a 'big' release, with that second being significantly pared down in the screen-share. But when Ragnarok opened at my local, it didn't go into 3D until its second full week. So all those of us queuing up on the first day to see the movie were all paying less to the cinema, the distributor and to Marvel as a result. I've got no great feeling on 3D either way, but I like to try and see Marvel movies in the format at least once, where it's available. [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Thor: Ragnarok (2D / first-pass / SPOILER-FREE)
Cert: 12A / 130 mins / Dir. Taika Waititi / Trailer
“You must finish what you’ve started. […] Your ancestors called it magic and you call it science. Well, I come from a place where they’re one and the same thing…”
While nothing is ever truly certain in this world, it would be fairly safe to say that 17 movies into a series that’s less than a decade old, Marvel Studios have turned the magic into a consistent, repeatable science. Even the weakest entries are still pretty good, and the Phase Three behemoth continues its strong form with Thor: Ragnarok, the third standalone entry for the god of thunder.
It’s slightly ironic that 2013’s Thor: The Dark World initially cued up the planet-hopping ethos which James Gunn's Guardians Of The Galaxy perfected, while falling slightly short of the finishing post itself. Because Ragnarok evokes the best of Gunn's work, while owing a debt to 2016’s Doctor Strange for successfully introducing actual sorcery into a cause-and-effect universe. The Thor of the third-coming rides the wave of its siblings, all with a heavy dose of dry humour. There are spaceships, there are spells; there are battleaxes and there are guffaws at every turn.
With Taika Waititi at the helm and a screenplay from Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (all three of whom have previously worked on Marvel properties), the film is in safe and loving hands from the outset. But that’s not to say that the characters are wrapped in narrative cotton wool. The events in Ragnarok have lasting consequences for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
Chris Hemsworth is well in his stride as the eponymous hero of course, as is Tom Hiddleston as his antagonistic brother Loki. Anthony Hopkins’ Odin is back with minimal scenery-chewing, while Idris Elba’s Heimdall plays a key role this time, even if he feels shortchanged in terms of screen-time. Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk makes a long-overdue return, playing the role in the way he’s made it his own; furious, petulant and thoroughly endearing. The Warriors Three have a fleeting reappearance, while the post-credits scene from Doctor Strange is given some fleshing out in its own full sequence. New to the cast and thrust centre-stage is Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, a hands-on role for a great performer (even if her character setup becomes lost in the overall noise of the movie).
The most anticipated name on the roster, though, is that of Cate Blanchett as Hela, the goddess of death. An actress who rarely disappoints, she plays true to form here, but never quite manages the true malice her role requires. ‘Revenge’ is a staple motivation for comic-book villains, but it’s really the only card in Hela’s deck, and Cate can’t seem to get past the theatrical posturing of her character and down to business. While it’s certainly an improvement on Christopher Ecclestone’s Malekith from The Dark World, it seems that Marvel haven’t quite solved their villain-problem yet.
But one thing which is in plentiful supply is charismatic supporting players. At one point where Thor awakens strapped into a chair being conveyed to meet ‘The Grandmaster’, a silhouette intro-montage plays on the walls behind him. Suddenly, a lone figure strikes a pose which is held in unmistakable freeze-frame; Jeff Goldblum has entered the screenplay. Every line, every gesture, every mid-sentence pause of Goldblum’s deftly steals the scene it’s in. Luckily for the film he’s used with restraint, but The Grandmaster is an absolute joy to behold.
Coming a very close second place in the attention-grabbing stakes is the mo-cap and voice turn from the director as Korg, arguably the Drax of Ragnarok, with Waititi’s native Kiwi-twang offsetting his fearsome rock-like appearance in deadpan observational comedy.
Mark Mothersbaugh is on scoring duties, and while the soundtrack makes the right noises in the right places, it’s not as thematically strong as previous entries from the likes of Michael Giacchino or Brian Tyler. In fact, other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it snippet, none of Tyler’s work from The Dark World makes a return - especially odd given how much time the film spends on Asgard and in the company of characters we’ve met there before. On a first-pass, the most standout musical moments seem to be where Led Zeppelin are inserted into the mix, which is fair enough.
All in all, Thor: Ragnarok is Marvel Studios rounding off 2017 with the A-game they’ve brought throughout. Fun, exciting battles and bickering, in exotic locations and with lasting character development. Fantastic stuff.
The battle at the end of the universe took place in Screen 5 of my local cinema, and Taika Waititi finished what Kenneth Branagh started. Marvel’s marketing department call it magic and and their effects crews call it science. But from where I sat tonight? They’re one and the same thing…
The business-end:
• Is there a Wilhelm Scream? Didn't hear one this time.
• Is there a Stan Lee cameo? Yes.
• Is there a mid-credits scene? Yes.
• Is there a post-credits scene? Yes.
Well, the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, to be fair…
Oh, yes.
Oh, yes.
Strong previous-game all round, but it's a strong contender.
I very well might.
I didn't hear one this time, but hit me up if you did yeah?
Level 1: The voice of Savage Opress is a voice in this.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
"Mark my words", John Goodman's faintly shady conspiracy-theorist character opines in the film's opening moments, as his cab pulls up outside the White House in 1973, "there'll never be a more screwed up time in Washington". A customary beat is left for audience chuckling, during which I thought Oh, so that's how this script is going to be, bringing the razor sharp jibes that only a $185m, 12A-rated, studio blockbuster with three screenwriters would even dare…
Yeah, in case you hadn't heard, Kong's back. And aren't Warner Bros happy about that? Their marketing campaign of having our eponymous primate fully appear in pretty much every trailer, robbing the film of any Reveal™ it may have thought about, is matched only by the decision to have him also appear about three minutes into the movie itself. Of all the criticisms which can be levelled at Skull Island, 'seeing too little of King Kong' will not be on the list, at least.
So, something-something-Unchartered-Island™, something-something-Government-Backed-Hand-Picked-Expedition-Team™, something-something-Secret-Agenda™. You know how this works, you've seen pretty much every monster flick of the last thirty years, right? The script sasses its way along, the first act writing cheques which the second and third won't be able to cash. Every six minutes or so the movie will drop its smartassery to lay some exposition, every bit as hackneyed and/or mechanical as the situation requires. Meanwhile, Henry Jackman's hastily reworked Winter Soldier score is punctuated all too frequently by a Needle-Drop™ soundtrack of conveniently iconic early 70s hits. Often this is literally the case as the gang of hardened Vietnam veterans and survival experts have brought a portable record player onto their expedition. As well as, y'know, records.
The soldiers, the scientists and The Girl One™ go deeper into the jungle, slowly realise that Kong probably isn't the bad guy, and find The Crazy Old Man One™ en-route (John C. Reilly being inexplicably the best thing about the film, despite being the worst in the trailers). By that time there's trouble in the group and armed bickering ensues. They then try to get out of the jungle anyway, and monsters start fighting each other in earnest. And the more monsters appear on screen, the the less any of it matters. An incredibly strong cast and occasionally fantastic cinematography are wasted on a slightly camp, borderline-animated farce. And don't even try to frame the events against any kind of logic or reason*1.
Despite being meticulously designed and detailed, there's a weightless quality to the Skull Island's non-human inhabitants which echoes the screenplay's lack of emotional engagement. There's no danger to be felt here, no joy, and despite the heavily applied 3D, certainly no depth. Rarely have creatures so definitively wild felt so utterly harmless.
To be fair, the film is fairly competent at what it does.
I just found what it does to be fairly boring.
Oh, and there's a thing after the credits, to add insult to injury.
Although credit where it's due, it's more impressive that the film's got Nick Fury, Captain Marvel and Loki on the same call-sheet…
And that's being kind, frankly. This is a film which I know will go down in my estimation, over time.
*1 I'll ask the questions so you don't have to:
• Reilly's Marlow says that Kong is still growing, but when we see the skeletons of his monkey-parents, they're only about 100ft, the same as Kong. Is this a throwaway line to explain why the ape will have to be bigger, if he's to rumble with Godzilla further down the line?
• How come we have a misty and overcast day on the river, as a flock of pseudo-pterodactyls snatch then tear apart a hapless explorer, all artfully silhouetted against a golden sunset which clearly isn't there?
• Why do we have vintage-effect footage of [REDACTED]'s tearful return home at the end of the movie, but with camera angles from inside the house as well, even though it's meant to be a surprise reunion?
• Why did I bother to remember these questions when it's clear that nothing in the film actually matters? [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Well, it's certainly turning out to be a week for it. Only a day earlier my eyebrow had been raised by how top-end a 12A film 10 Cloverfield Lane is, and this was followed by one of the hardest 15 Certificated movies in recent memory. Ben Wheatley's adaptation of JG Ballard's High-Rise is not for the psychologically squeamish.
Truth be told (and without wanting to sound snobbish, I promise you), High-Rise will be 'not for' quite a wide swathe of mainstream audiences, I think (although I've also got to add that the film's more provocative moments are also the least necessary to the film). The story itself, about a barely completed tower block with social divisions across its many floors descending into tribal chaos, is relatively straightforward as allegories go, but its telling is more challenging. Which is where director Wheatley comes in. With each film in his catalogue, he toys with his audience in a slightly different way, and the more I see, the more I admire him as a film-maker. I don't necessarily enjoy all of his work, but I respect the fuck out of it.
By making the tableau decidedly unreal in the first place, the film's audience are already detached bystanders by the time everything in the tower-block goes monumentally downhill. Although Tom Hiddleston's Laing is initially an outsider to the world, we're still not 'on his side' (at least that's what we tell ourselves) as his own behaviour becomes no less extreme than his fellow residents, even if he considers his own standing to be markedly different.
Ballard's setting of the tower-block (which we rarely, but occasionally, step outside of) is like being trapped in a lift with The League of Gentlemen and Scarfolk, except that they're too close for you to feel comfortable laughing at. Or making eye-contact with. Crucially, Wheatley understands the surreal landscape, and so do his cast, minimising the amount of leg-work required between them to bring the vision to the screen. There are no real standout performances*1, but that's largely because the cast aren't competing for attention here (even if the characters are).
Audibly, the film is just as disquieting as the visuals, and includes the most emotionally-distressing use of Abba in a soundtrack since Mamma Mia. Massive props also go to cinematographer Laurie Rose, not least for filming repeatedly in an elevator full of mirrors without showing the camera to the audience. I know that's part of the job, but still.
I definitely enjoyed High-Rise, and I even think I know what some of it was about. Just don't ask me to explain it in any detail.
Part metaphor, part lesson, part cheese-dream, in all likelihood.
The film left me intrigued, but not really affected in any emotional sense.
Although I suspect that could well be intentional.
More viewings required…
.
The cinema will make this movie all the more surreal, and all the more uncomfortable being surrounded by strangers while you watch it. So yes.
…I think so?
It's up there, certainly.
I won't.
There isn't.
Level 2: The film features Julia Deakin and Tony Way, both of whom were in the sitcom Spaced, starring Simon Voice of Dengar / Unkar Plutt / Semi-Pro Star Wars Hater Pegg.
*1 That said, this could be Luke ('Dracula Untold' / 'FF6') Evans' first prominent performance where I didn't want to see him taken outside and flogged with his Equity card. Turns out he can act, he just chooses mostly not to. #meeow
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
