I have to sing. It's not just in me... it is me (Coco 2018)

171.

Coco

  

 

 

 

8/10

 

Finally, it is time for the next stage of the Disney Universe. We have been into the toy's realm, seen where the monster live, even been inside our own heads, but now it's time to see Disney's take on the afterlife. More specifically, we are about to witness the afterlife that the Mexicans believe in. This is a whole new level for Disney, due to the fact that they kind of always want to keep it light hearted, where they best can, but to be surrounded by the dead, this is going to be interesting. It's from their Pixar studios, so we know that the animation will be second to none but the cast is far from known to me, so let's hope that they can hold their own. Will this movie be one that has the ability to take the topic and raise it from the dead?

The movie plot revolves around a young boy and his love for music, but finding out that his family have a ban on music for some reason. The movie actually begins with paper banners, through the streets, telling us a little history story, of a family and a new born, who's father left him and his mother to pursue a career in music, declaring it his one dream. Was this the background to this boy's story and the reason that the family had banned music from their house. The child in this paper story was named Coco, the Great grandson, is Miguel, the child that we shall follow around. Coco now lives with Miguel and his family and is pretty much bound to a wheelchair, with very little dialogue. Miguel dreams of being a singer one day, just like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz, who he regularly watches on TV in secret, learning all of his songs. This guy was a massive talent in Coco's era and the reason so many people wanted to get into the business. One day, close to the day of the dead, Miguel goes to the family shrine and accidentally damages the photo of Coco's mother and removes it from the frame, unfolding it and discovering that her father was holding de la Cruz's famous guitar. The face had been ripped off, but this guy's shoulders are around the same width of this famous musician and actor.

Coming to the conclusion that Ernesto is his Great-great grandfather, Miguel is wanting to enter the talent show in town. This is even though his Grand-mother has smashed his guitar on the ground. As he runs through the streets, we are treated to one of the oldest Easter Eggs in Disney Pixar. That is the Pizza Planet truck drives passed quickly. This time I even spotted it. Miguel heads to Ernesto's tomb and steals his guitar to use in the show. With one stroke, he becomes invisible to the living, apart from the street dog he is friendly with and soon is spotted by his dead relatives, who are visiting for the holiday. These skeletal folk aren't too surprised to see their young relative and after taking him back to the land of the dead, which is a sight to behold, they head to a kind of immigration department, where one of the relatives cannot enter the land of the living and this is because of Miguel, who had smashed her photo. We find out, which was confusing me at the start, as to why Miguel had been transported to the land of the dead. He is now cursed for stealing from the dead and now must find blessing, to return to the land of the living by sunrise, otherwise he will be forever cursed and stranded. The only condition is, that when his Great-great Grandmother offers him the blessing, he must abolish any intent for following a career in the musical arts, which he doesn't take well and runs, beginning the search of Ernesto. On his way out of the main offices, we are shown a skeleton named Hector. This guy has already tried to get into the land of the living, by disguising himself as a female, due to his family not putting his picture up and he seems infamous, for doing this for years. Out of all the skeletons, which seems weird to type, this guy is dressed pretty damn scruffy and is by no means well off. Once he bumps into Miguel, he claims that he knows Ernesto. Of course he does, bastard con-artist. He said that he will help Miguel to reach Ernesto, but in exchange, Miguel must put his photo back in the land of the living, so that he can visit during the festival. This is down to the fact that his daughter is the only one left alive and if she forgets him, he will disappear completely. Hector, the little swine, attempts to return Miguel back to his family, by means of the ones who want to stop the music, but once again, the young lad legs it. Being chased but the Great-great grandmother, Miguel explains his plan on getting by back Ernesto's help, which, even by skeleton standards, leaves a look of confusion and shock on this woman's face. He ends up finding his way into Ernesto's mansion and playing his own music for him, being granted an audience with the man, he explains about his history and how they are related. This guy seems a right pretentious arsehole though, who doesn't credit anyone else and actually reminds me of seeing footballer in today's society.  The man, or skeleton, embraces this connection, before Hector confronts them both and we find out that Ernesto actually killed this man. He poisoned him after Hector wanted to return home to his daughter, which means that he would have taken all of the songs away from Ernesto, the songs he became famous for. As he see the history of the murder, we also see the history of where Hector's songs came from. He is singing them to his daughter, Coco and states how little he wants to leave to achieve Ernesto's dreams. Ernesto takes Hector's photo from Miguel, in order to hide any evidence that this murder took place and both Miguel and Hector are eventually thrown into a pit, where they are left to die.

They come to the realisation that they are related, but also that Coco is on her way out and Hector will soon be forgotten. Dante the dog turns up and helps the two escape with the family of skeletons. There is a quick confrontation between Hector and his wife, Imelda, as Miguel tried to defuse the situation with the true story of him wanting to return home, being the reason that he died. Even after a little acceptance, the bridges are still a little burnt. The newly grouped team, must now break into Ernesto's famous sunrise party, in order to get Hector's photo back, before returning Miguel to the land of the living. Their other objective though, is to finally reveal this popular singer's crimes to his adoring audience. This is accomplished, as behind the stage, Ernesto, throws Miguel off the high rise building, supposedly to his death, which is filmed on camera and showed to his audience. Imedla's spirit animal catches him and flies him back to the summit, before chasing down Ernesto, who climbs to the top of his set and is crushed by a giant bell, which is the same way he died originally. With the toss over the side, Miguel had lost the photo of Hector, which the skeleton is massively gutted by. The sun is about to rise, as Imelda blesses Miguel, with no conditions attached and he returns to the living, running straight to Coco, but not before stealing the guitar once more. That moment is a little confusing as surely he's stolen it once so it is gone? He gets home and recites a song from Hector, which used to be sung to Coco when she was a little girl. The song sparks her memories of her father and even revitalizes her, making her sing along, before going into a draw and retrieving the ripped out photo of Hector. Coco's daughter then hugs Miguel, showing her acceptance of music back into the family.

One year later, Miguel has truly taken on board his heritage and walked up to his family shrine, which now show a photo of Coco, as she has passed away. Hector is there too, back in the photo with Imelda, as Miguel shows everyone to his new baby sister. Letters saved by Coco have proven who was behind all of the music and a result of this is that the shrine to Ernesto is now completely ignored and the pubic now celebrate Hector. The closing scene shows the family in their home grounds during the day of the dead festival and we can see Imelda and Hector, rejoicing with their family, along with the other family skeletons and living, as Miguel sings and plays for both living and dead.

For someone watching this movie, outside of the Mexican culture, it was important to find out how it was represented in that, to go alongside my own opinion. This film was amazingly colourful and touching. I followed the storyline as well as I could and still didn't see the hints as to who Coco's father was all along. The picture threw us off with the massive shoulder's which the skeleton still wore and a pathetic skeleton who only seemed a crock. When it come to the end, I can see how it would be a little emotional for people, with the realisation of Coco passing away and becoming one of the afterlife. This movie is based on her by name and although she isn't shown too much within the movie, she plays the most vital role by the end, in saving her father. This isn't a movie that needs a sequel and that can only be a good thing. It was good in it's own right, with tackling something that Disney have never tried before and doing it with ease. I wasn't as touched by the music and storyline as I have been from the more recent additions to Disney and Disney Pixar but within the right society, this is easily a massive, emotional hit.

 

Holy Beefaroni! You're ginormous! (Ferdinand 2017)

170.

Ferdinand

 

 

 

 

 

7.5/10

 

 

 

AND IT'S JOHN CENA, DOO DOO DODOOO. The trailer for this kid's animation, seemed to be around forever. Finally, the time came to visit the cinema and watch as John Cena is voicing a massive bull, stripped away from his home and made to train to be a fighting bull. I've had some mixed responses from the animation that I've seen in the past year so I wonder what this one has in store for me. The trailer show's this loveable bull as clumsy, cowardly but still built like a brick shithouse. It's time to see whether this is built to last or just a load of bullshit.
The movie opens in Spain, on a bull ranch as three young calves are play fighting amongst each other, as they wait to see which of the older bulls is picked to fight the matador in the arena. In the background, we see another young calve, tending to a flower, making sure that it isn't trampled. Here's betting that's Ferdinand. He constantly gets picked on by the other bulls, but mainly Valiente, who is the leader of the other three and also, whose father is the main challenger for Ferdinand's. They all watch, as the other bulls fight for victory, with Ferdinand's coming out on top. The say goodbye to Ferdinand's dad, as he is driven away, just as Valiente's father dismisses his own son. This leads the young bull to stomp on Ferdinand's flower, in a fit of rage. The flower was red after all. As the days drag on and Ferdinand waits for his father's return. The older viewers will know what is happening and the truck, which once took the massive bull away, has come back empty. The youngster knows that something has happened and is heartbroken. He runs from the paddock, trying to escape the ranch and find his father. He ends up getting on a train and being picked up by a florist, after he had fallen down a muddy slope. He is taken back to his home and immediately forms a bond with the daughter, Nina. Much to the annoyance of their pet dog, Paco. He loves the fact that this place has flowers and sleeps inside, with Nina. We have a small montage of him enjoying, until he is fully grown and now being voiced by John Cena. He's grown bigger than his father was, but is still a gentle bull. He even calls the dog his brother, who hats it, but can't help but wag his tail, every time Ferdinand calls him brother. Hold up, if the bull can't talk to humans, how do they know his name is Ferdinand?? 
The florist, Juan, with his daughter, are preparing to leave for the flower festival but this time they cannot take Ferdinand, simply because he is too big. After they leave, he decides that he is going anyway and we know that this isn't going to end well. He scares everyone with his clumsy nice, hides in a china shop, (surprise, surprise), before eventually being caught by the authorities. All this because he was stung in the arse by a wasp. In a turn out for the books, he is taken to the ranch that he escaped all those years ago. Meeting a goat on arrival, which confesses that she trains the bulls, he is quickly pitted up against his old enemies. They too have grown, obviously and it isn't long until they notice that Ferdinand is back. There are also two other bulls, one, a scot who cannot see past the hair in his eyes and another, which has apparently been made in a lab and pretty much acts like a robot. Guapo and Bones, who have been there from the start, are surprised by how much Ferdinand has grown, whereas Valiente is still a knob. Ferdinand is brought to his stable, which gives him instant flashbacks and he also meets three, robbing hedgehogs, who he scares at first, but they quickly warm up to him once they find out his nature. He also meets three German horses. They seem like show horses, snooty bastards and make fun of the bulls. Ferdinand's training begins, with hilarious consequences, which only makes the others doubt his credentials.
The next day, the most famous bullfighter turns up to pick a bull. They gang are sent into the ring together to fight, with Guapo getting too nervous, Ferdinand holding everyone up with his refusal to fight, Bones being too small and Angus not being able to see. The bullfighter is disgusted by the selection and Guapo, thinking that he is being chosen and but into the back of the van, is actually being taken to the nearby slaughter house. Valiente tells Ferdinand that if they aren't fighters, then they are meat. Ferdinand slowly gets the respect from the others, by helping them out in their own way and beating the horses to a dance off, but still Valiente dislikes him. It's pretty obvious that he will help him in some way in the future, but not right now. He eventually picks fight with Ferdinand, results in Ferdinand giving in and defending himself, snapping one of Valiente's horns and impressing the bullfighter at the same time. The bully is taken straight to the slaughter house for his troubles. Ferdinand has decided that the time has come to escape and after convincing Lupe the goat to help him, they gather up the hedgehogs and make a plan. Somehow sneaking through the ranch, the make it into the main house, where he sees a picture of his father, with his horns mounted above it. In fact, the whole wall is covered with horns, giving the realisation that no matter what, the bulls are destined to die. He doesn't want this for the other bulls and turns back to free the others. He ends up heading to the slaughter house and trying to free the two trapped bulls. They end up activating the machines and just when all seems gloomy, Valiente comes to the aid and is officially rooting for the good side. Called it. They end up, somehow, stealing the famers truck and heading into town. The bullfighter threatens to ruin the ranch if they own doesn't get the bull back, so off they go, chasing them down. The cause carnage, through the traffic and train yard, until they make it to a train and as everyone gets on, Ferdinand stays behind to make sure that the rest escape. He is caught and taken to the arena.
The news of this bullfighter's last fight, has made its way around Spain and Juan and Paco see it on TV before heading to get Nina in order to go and save their bull. As a huge crowd gathers, Lupe who has stayed behind with Ferdinand, tries to convince the bull to fight for his life. He is forced into the ring by swords and spikes and doesn't attempt to give a good fight, even after hitting the fighter into the wall. Enraged, the guy tries to attack the bull from every angle, cutting the bull's shoulder, before he gets picked up by Ferdinand's horns, maybe giving into the fight. He lowers the fighter after seeing a rose that has been thrown onto the ring floor, bringing the bull back to his peaceful moments back at the farm. He remembers his friend Nina, before sitting down, looking ready to accept his fate, as the matador steadies his sword. The audience let loose and want the bull to remain alive, just as Nina and her father make it to ringside. The matador leaves, with his pride, just as Nina rushes to her closest friend to embrace him and the other bulls, who decided not to escape, make it into the ring to see their friend. They are all brought to the farm, where Nina falls in love with Lupe, making her feel loved for the first time. Ferdinand takes his friends to sit by his favourite tree and flower field, to watch the sunset and enjoy the sunset with freedom.
For another animation, this was quite enjoyable. There were moments that can make you laugh, along with some sadness and relief, that would have been received by the audience, depending on their age. For example, the younger viewers wouldn't have been aware at what would have happened to the father in the beginning, or understood the controversy surrounding the bull fighting within Spain. John Cena may not be a favourite of mine within the wrestling community but when it comes to a human being and his charitable involvement in society, this guy is top of the pile. The story is quite predictable, as with the territory of a child's movie, but it was a very good storyline all the same, with very little flaws. The animation and voice work are really good and Cena managed to give his character as much heart as he shows in real life. It is always good to see a happy ending, especially with today's society and this movie giving a welcome escape, but it would be interesting, just once, to see what would happen if the ending took a bad turn. It's not there with my enjoyment of seeing 'Storks' but worth the watch all the same.
 

 



Wouldn't you go to prison to stop this war? (The Post 2018)

169.

The Post

 

 

 

7/10

 

Another movie that is being nominated for a variety of awards, including picture of the year and best actress, with Meryl Streep in the main role. Steven Spielberg gives us a look into a true story of how the lies spouted by the American government's failings during the Vietnam war and deceptions, to keep the truth from the public. This follows the story behind one newspaper, The Washington Post and their battle with the government for the right to publish the findings. Could this be front page material or nothing more than a quick side story?

Our story begins on the front line, where a guy called Daniel Ellsberg, is in South Vietnam to observe the progress made in the battle, to report back to the Embassy. At night, the unit he is in, gets ambushed by unseen enemies and are nearly all wiped out. On his flight home, he speaks to the Secretary of Defence and the Chief of Staff, who he explains that nothing has changed, which could also mean that things are getting worse. Once landed, the Secretary is confronted by the press, who he instantly lies to and tells them that things are getting better on the front. Ellsberg is clearly shaken by this and during the night, he sneaks out of the Pentagon with files on the Vietnam War, meeting with his colleagues and making copies of everything. One reading over the files himself, he sees that four Presidents were involved in the cover-up regarding certain facts and allied to the press.

6 years later, we are into the time of our main bulk of the film. Meryl Streep is a publisher, who is set to take her company public. In her meeting, she freezes when asked questions, clearly showing that her character isn't exactly strong right now. At the same time, she also gets a call from the Chief of Staff, explaining that President Nixon doesn't want the paper to cover his daughter's wedding. She later meets with her managing editor, Ben Bradlee, who is played by Tom Hanks. She makes a suggestion about expanding their coverage to attract move of an audience, but is quickly shot down by Bradlee. After the meeting about going public, Kay Graham, Streep's character, is in her office and outside are two of the men from the meeting, discussing their concerns about the Post going public. They are bringing up negatives such as people may not be happy with a woman in charge and how she only inherited the company, after Graham's husband committed suicide. Later that evening, at Graham's home, she is visited by McNamara, who informs her that something bad may be printed about him in tomorrow's New York Times.

Once Bradlee has caught wind of the Times launching a major story, he sends an intern to their department, to find out what a journalist named, Sheehan, is about to write up. He comes back with a rough drawing on what the front page was going to look like, involving McNamara and they Post team aren't too pleased. The Times publishes a story about getting their hands on the Pentagon papers, which has news on the cover-ups that the White House has been involved in. While Graham sits down for a meal with the Times editor, his assistant comes over with news that Nixon wants to take them to court over the story. One of the journalists with the Post works endlessly to set up a meeting with Ellsberg, who finally meets him at a motel, with all of the printed papers laid out on the bed. Once he obtains them, he informs Bradlee and gathers his top workers to sit and arrange them all in the right order. In anticipation of all of the backlash, they hire lawyers, to find out their rights and what would happen. I don't know what went on with this at the time, but I'm going to guess that they published, mainly because it would be a waste of time to make this film and then they shit out.

Graham is clearly scared and sits with her daughter to discuss her feelings about running the story and managing the company by herself. She is mainly doing it to support her family and nothing more. Bradlee informs Graham that they will face legal action if they run the story and a huge debate erupts from the board members versus the journalists. Graham is left with the final decision and after a decent speech, she goes ahead with it all. The next day, it's published and the newspaper is on the streets. This starts a wave of all other publications running the same story, so that they cannot all be silenced. Graham is taken to the supreme court by the government, to which they win the case, as a judge rules in favour of the governed, not the governors.

The film ends with Bradlee talking to Graham in friendly conversation, as we are transported outside of the White House, where through the window, we see Nixon on the phone, banning anyone from The Post from ever going to the White House again. Later, we see a security guard at the Watergate Hotel, noticing that a break in is in progress....
A very historic event and interesting story that was behind it, was shown by so pretty average performances, in my opinion, from Streep and Hanks. I'm not sure it was their fault, but with the topic and people that they needed to portray, I doubt they had much to truly work with. The whole movie seems to follow the usual criteria but it never really reaches the 'WOW' factor for me. Being British, it is hard to keep trap on what happens in the US but this could be easily comparable to Trump's war on 'Fake News' right now and trying to cover-up any stories that are leaking about him. Although this is pretty much an enjoyable history lesson, don't expect to leave the cinema in shocked silence that had been created from other movies of this type.

Fuck. You ARE a God (The Shape of Water 2018)

168.

The Shape of Water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.5/10

 

 

This was the Odeon Screen Unseen and even with the clues, I had no idea what I was going in to watch. The trailers that I had seen, hadn't really given anything away for the movie but it was winning plaudits from all angles, along with nominations for some of the biggest movie awards around. Set in the 60's this movie seemed to be focused around an amphibious creature, that is being helped to escape from a facility. Guillermo del Toro, puts his name to a film labelled as romance, which I'm oddly curious to see where that comes from. Will this be a movie that will sink or swim?

This movie, if described using a water analogy, would be a decent front crawl at best, but was never going to win the swimming race for me. It had a good cast of, Michael Shannon, as the bad guy and with a face only a mother could love, it's safe to see why he fitted the bill. Sally Hawkins plays a janitor who falls in love with an amphibian 'man' and although she is mute, she teaches him sign language, to cross over the first boundary. It is explained in the movie, how she was found at a river bed, with some pretty bad scratches along each side of her neck and I'm instantly thinking, could those be gills? As the movie progresses and she gets the help from her neighbour about the escape and hiding of the creature, the plan goes pretty well, even though her work friend thinks something is up and investigates, only to help with the final cover-up. We always know which way this story is going to go and it's just the process of getting there. As it carries on, Sally Hawkins' character ends up hiding the 'man' in her bath tub, until the tide rises in the docks and the amphibian can be released.
Michael Shannon is now in the middle of playing a man possessed and obsessed with finding the escapee. Elisa, Hawkins' character, has decided a drop her dressing gown for her new love and this scaled man duly accepts her offer. Later, she even foods her bathroom so that they can be together under the water. It obviously will never be plain sailing, as at one point, this guy eats the cat and legs it when being told off. He seems to have this power, that can heal people, as he cuts a man with his claws and then does some glowing thing to speed up the recovery, so it isn't too hard to see why he was of such an interest to the government, with some calling him and worshipping him as a sort of god.
The movie finally draws to close, when the group think they are in the clear but after Shannon's character searches Elisa's place, to see the calendar describe her plan for release. As they are down the dock, Strickland, played by Shannon, ends up shooting the creature and Elisa in the back, just as they are saying their goodbyes. Walking away in victory, he doesn't expect the creature to heal itself and slice his throat. He then takes Elisa into the water, after bringing her back to life, which opens up her gills and I guess they are ready to start their life together under the sea.
The look, feel and musical score to this movie screaming the computer game, Bioshock. An old, gloomy feel with lots of water, depressing colours and shades of green. This along with the music that comes straight out of a phonograph horn, takes me back to my favourite console game but unfortunately, this was far from my favourite movie. It was a very predictable movie at times, apart from the shooting at the end, which reminded me of another del Toro film and the end of Pan's Labyrinth. I didn't expect this to be as much of a romantic movie as it was and for a random musical score in the middle, as a mute mimes a love song, it just seemed very strange at times. It easy to see how many people love this movie and how many awards it's been nominated for but it was a forgettable experience for me. Even the sub-plots pointed towards romance, with only one out of three relationships ending with togetherness. If I had to describe this movie, it would be Free Willy, if Jesse had slept with the whale. Just as that story, there was a plan, an escape, trying to persuade people to help out and a release. This just wasn't as memorable for me.


Will you stop interrupting me, when I am interrupting you! (Darkest Hour 2018)

 

 

 

167.

Darkest Hour

 

 

 

8/10

 

 

 

Gary Oldman makes a huge transformation to become the huge figure of Winston Churchill, as we follow him through his early days as Prime Minister of Great Britain. Hitler is closing in during World War II and for those who didn't know what went on, this is a history lesson, that we can all get involved with. I'm a huge fan of Oldman, whether it be as a good or bad character, he always seems to be at his best. If I'm honest, I don't really have an idea what the process was before winning the war, so it will be an interesting watch for me. Will this movie bomb, or be given the V for victory sign?

The year is 1940 and Britain is Allied with France, against the Germans. Before they get closer to France, the Labour Party, which is not in power, calls of the resignation of the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, mainly for being too weak. He calls a meeting and wants his party to appoint Lord Halifax, who rejects and instead they must choose someone that Labour will be ok with, because they must all work together to win this war. Up steps Churchill, who is the Head of Naval affairs and apparently, the best option. We are quickly transported to Churchill's house, as his new assistant has turned up for work, as he is in bed, waiting for his breakfast. Elizabeth Layton, played by Lily James, upsets him within an hour, as she cannot follow his stuttering voice, when trying to write his letters. She leaves crying, ready to quit, until the wife, Clementine, rebuffs the guy and tells him that as Prime Minister, he must be nice to others. I'm already loving Oldman as this character. A grumpy oaf, who doesn't care much for new people. King George VI, has now invited Churchill to form the government but lets him know that he wanted his friend, Halifax, as Prime Minister.

Although Churchill was always right about the danger of Hitler, he is still nowhere near respected after failed missions and his views in the past. Everyone from the Conservatives and maybe even the rest of Parliament, are hoping that Churchill will push for negotiations for peace. But, his first speech says otherwise. He thinks that are untrustworthy and even delusional, as he speaks on air, about the fact that they are doing well in France, when in fact, they are losing, badly. Halifax and Chamberlain agree to use the Italians as a middle man, in order to speak to Hitler and arrange peace, behind Churchill's back. If Churchill then refuses the offer, they will agree to resign, leading to a vote of no confidence and Halifax becoming Prime Minister. If he wanted it before, why didn't he become it?! Bollocks to everything else. The fact that it's the same guy that plays Stannis in A Game of Thrones pisses me off anyway.

On the other side of the English Channel, most men are stuck on the beaches in Dunkirk and after already seeing that film, I actually know what is going on there. What I didn't know was that Churchill had ordered a Brigadier to lead a Brigade to distract the Germans from attacking Dunkirk, so that they could evacuate them. This was pretty much a suicide mission. Belgium surrenders next though and France are expected to do so afterwards. Churchill even gives Roosevelt, the President of the States a bell, but he can't help, after signing the Neutrality Acts. Running out of options and support on the Cabinet, Churchill allows the guys to speak to the Italians. Back at home, he gets a very unexpected visitor, in the shape of the King. He doesn't want to flee and in fact, he encourages Churchill to fight on. With not knowing what to do, Churchill jumps onto an underground train, giving the passengers quite a shock, but finally, he has some clarity. These people are willing to fight and are showing the strength of a nation. This part of the film is completely fictional by the way. Churchill then moves onto a more realistic moment, as he meets the Outer Cabinet and other members of Parliament, all of whom seem to support him.

With his assistant, Layton's help, Churchill is writing his speech to address Parliament. Halifax is still demanding that Chamberlain goes ahead with the plan to depose of him but as Churchill's speech begins and everyone becomes intrigued with his words, we get to the most famous parts, with 'fight on the beaches' and suddenly I can feel my own hairs on my arms standing up. A very powerful piece. The room applauds their Prime Minister, for his words and defiance at this time. Happy with his actions, Churchill exits the room and we are left with a black screen. The film ends with a worded summery of the aftermath. Chamberlain dies 6 months later with cancer and Halifax is whisked off to America as an Ambassador. Churchill remains in power until May 1945, where he loses the next election. This guy was a leader that the country needed, but all in all not one that many wanted.

It's not hard to see why Oldman has been put up for so many awards with this role. Due to make up and extra padding, it was hard to tell that it was really him, but this guy's CV just keeps getting better and better. He brings a new image to Churchill, with jokes and not just sarcastic references. It has helped me to understand what happened during the events of the war and what Churchill had brought to the table, in a way that was a lot more refreshing that learning it in a class room. There isn't too much to talk about in the ways of a musical score but one set of images that will remain with me would be Churchill early time as Prime Minister, compared to when he was nearly overthrown. On his first car journey into Parliament, the streets are lined with smiling faces, the sky is bright, just as the pavements, with plenty of everyday activities taking place. By the end, there is nothing back darkness on the same street. The weather is awful and kids are running around in Hitler masks, as if the figure is haunting Churchill and this moment changed the mood of the movie for me. The art and costume design to change Gary Oldman is such a way is another thing to note. This will deserve every award it gets and was highly entrancing and at the subway moment, along with the main speech, I was ready to watch them on those beaches, which sadly never came. But all in all, that's a good thing, as it never took anything away from the importance of what this movie was, a portrait of Churchill.

Starting over is not for beginners! (Home Again 2017)

 

 

 

166.

Home Again

 

 

 

3/10

 

 

I haven't really taken much interest in a trailer to this move and it was never one on my list of 'must sees' for 2017, but its seems very clear, that this is a romantic comedy for a mainly female audience, possibly in their mid-life moments, because Reese Witherspoon, seems to be playing one in a crisis. I can see Michael Sheen there too, flying the flag for the Welsh, but as for everyone else, I don't think I've seen them in something before and after this viewing, I may never again. There's a high chance that I should have gone home again, instead of grabbing this ticket, but there is only one way to find out.

Alice Kinney, the main female in this, played by Witherspoon, is the daughter of a famous film director, who has no passed away. As he hits her fortieth birthday, she is separated from her husband and the father of her two children, who has stayed in New York to carry on producing music. Alice has moved back to LA with her girls, to be closer to her mother and she has moved into her Dad's old home. She has decided to start a new adventure as an interior decorator. That night, she is off out for her celebrations with friends, when they come cross three guys, Harry, George and Teddy, who are in the city to pitch a film idea and get their foot onto the filmmaking ladder. They all hit it off and Alice even necks on with Harry and they nearly sleep together but he passes out drunk. Idiot. The guys are all in their twenties but make the girls feel a little younger again. The next morning, George finds a room of Alice's Dad's old things and realises the family history straight away. They guys aren't even out of the house yet and the daughters arrive back with their Grandmother. Alice takes them to school, as her own mother makes the lads breakfast and talks about her starring roles in her later husband's movies. She even offers them the guest house, until they can get back on their feet. Thinking it will be good for her daughter to have some men around, which isn't greeted with much enthusiasm from Alice.

The three guys have fitted in well, becoming part of Alice's routine. A love interest in Harry, Teddy is helping her set up a website for her company and George is helping out with one of the daughter's school work and anxiety. In their spare time, they also meet with a producer, who is interested in their work and wouldn't mind funding them, even after only working on one genre before. He does want to change some things though and this doesn't go down too well. Alice and Harry grow closer and she even invited him to a dinner with her friends but when his meeting runs over and he doesn't make it, she calls the relationship off the next morning. Things are starting to go downhill a bit again, as her client has pretty much been treating her as a nanny and doesn't even like her ideas for design. The main problem comes as Austin, played by Sheen, arrives to be closer to her and the kids. Things aren't going to well for the lads either, as Harry finds out that the others are trying to take side jobs to save money and he thinks they have given up on their own project. Austen doesn't like the idea of these three living there. Teddy's dislike of the way that Austen holds himself also rises, as they end up fighting, just as Alice is pulling into the driveway and she agrees that it's tie for the lads to leave. You can see Austen is pleased, but he won't be for long as Alice turns to him and is now determined that she wants a divorce. Some people may think, 'poor sod', but not me. If this woman is willing to let three strangers stay over, rent free, good riddance. The boys have found their own flat and once they have reconciled with Teddy about the work situation, they are best buds again.

A week passes by and Alice goes over to the new flat, with a plant, to apologise to the guys for how it all turned out. She still wants them to be part of her family, as the daughters miss them too. Harry does some apologising of his own, even mentioning that she is too good for him. They are all invited to the eldest daughter's play and when their meeting overruns, this time they aren't taking any shit and leave in time to make it for the start, with George heading back stage to help with the girl's anxiety and even being implied that he will hit it off with the teacher. The film ends with a 'family dinner', if you want to call it that, with everyone enjoying each other's company and the daughter explaining how her play was pretty much the story of their own lives

So yeah, it's safe to say I won't be leaping to grab a copy of this on DVD. This is far from my kind of genre within movies and this simply adds to my reasons why. The characters are very flat, along with the storyline. It's hard, very hard to imagine that this would ever happen in real-life, no matter how much you want to believe. There isn't even a moment where the three guys actually make it in filmmaking. Is the whole happy ending, the fact that they managed to get another free meal out of Alice? It was very cliché, cheesy ad at times, boring and the only scene I could actually relate to in any way, was when Alice was crying into her bathroom mirror, because by the end, that's exactly how I felt. This someone simply set up a free Air BnB.

Because it's my name... and I'll never have another.(Molly's Game 2018)

 

 

 

165.

Molly's Game

 

 

 

 

7.5/10

 

 

Molly's game is a film based on the true story of a young. Olympic-class skier, who started to run a poker game for the exclusive and those willing for high stakes. After 10 years, she got caught and arrested, who wanted answers to who the celebs and Russian mob members who were playing the games. Her only ally would turn out to be her defensive lawyer, who would learn that there was a lot more to this woman, than was being reported by the press. Jessica Chastain plays Molly and is a solid 10/10 in the trailer! Idris Elba is the lawyer and along with Michael Cera and Kevin Costner, this could be a decent film. I enjoy a bit of poker from time to time but I wonder if this movie will be a full house or nothing more than decent pair.

The film begins at the top of a ski run, with Chastain's voice giving a voice over as an introduction, telling the audience that everything we are about to witness is true, apart from the names, leaving only her own as the real one. We are about to witness the most important day of her life and her Olympic trails which ends with her having a freak accident and laying at the bottom of the slope unconscious. During the run, we have flash back of how hard he father was on her whilst training. Her father is played by Costner. She has even broken her back whilst younger and still made it back onto the slope. We then jump to her present day, as she is in her home in LA, piles of her book which she has written, are laying about as she gets woken by a phone call from the FBI, telling her that there are about to arrest her. They burst in and arrest her on the grounds of running and illegal gambling ring, which she replies that she hasn't run one in two years. Back to the flashbacks, Molly has moved to LA, wanting to find herself before heading off to law school. She begins as a waitress and catches the eye of a producer, who offers her a job as his assistant. He turns out to be a demanding little prick, no matter the time of day. One night, he asks her to organise a poker game for him. Giving her phone numbers for the players, she sets off to get food and drink for them all. In walk some pretty well-known faces, to her obviously, as we are in the dark, including player X, who is played by Michael Cera, other business men and some of the richest and most powerful around. They are playing with thousands, acting like it is pennies. After the game, these men tip Molly and after gaining thousands, she realises how much she can make.

This film is fast becoming flash back heaven, but for now, we are put back to present day and Molly's meeting with a lawyer, played by Elba. After discussing everything, he feels sorry for her but thinks the whole thing is a mess. That's without the information she is withholding. She is being accused of being in with the Russian mob, but she is adamant that they were only players in her game. He clearly doesn't believe her, pressing for more information, but he is also apprehensive because he knows she is skint. The government has seized all of her earned money, which is how I feel half of the time! She is owed plenty out on the streets though but she is hoping that her main income will be from the selling of her book. He finally agrees to help her with her arraignment and then move her onto someone else. Once in her arraignment, he asks her why she has never collected her debts from the street and her honest answer is that she didn't know how the new debt-holders would collect. With this answer, he reluctantly stands in front of the judge and agrees to take her on as a client. Flashback time! She starts making plenty of money running the game, with her lifestyle changing and it isn't long until her boss, Dean, notices and refuses to keep paying her for being an assistant, as she now makes enough. But she must keep being the assistant or he will take the game from her. She isn't too happy about this and he fires her anyway. Molly isn't the least bit worries as she takes the game for herself, setting it up in a stunning hotel's penthouse suite. The usual faces turn up, such as Player X, who it turns out, it supposed to be Toby Maguire. This guy reveals a stunning trait to Molly, as he loves to destroy other players, taking all of their money and ruining their lives. When he makes a little move on Molly, she rejects and she even confronts him about his playing style. He takes offense and ends up taking the game and players from her, leaving her with nothing. Thinking about quitting, she soon changes her mind and heads to New York to try again, with no one who knows here but when the players start reneging on debts, she starts to take a small amount from the pot, in order to cover herself. This starts a down turn for her and her lifestyle, as she starts taking drugs in order to stay awake for all hours.

She has a chauffeur, who she never ever opens up to, but one day, with things she hard, she tells him about her past life and he asks her whether two of his friends could meet her and discuss the game she runs. When she meets with these too, they turn out to be Italian mobsters, who look for a cut in order to collect debts for her. Maybe this is why she didn't want the debts collecting, she didn't want people hurt. When she declines, a goon is sent to hers to rough her up and steal from her safe. She stays locked away for days, bloodied, bruised and in no mood for anyone. When she finally opens her door, she sees a newspaper that explains about the mob bust, which is the reason that they ever called around again. She is just about to get to a game one night, when she receives a phone call from a player hiding in the toilet. He explains how the FBI have raided the game, to mainly arrest the Russian Mob, which Molly didn't realise were playing. She simply thought they were Russians. That was the day that she quit running games and didn't for another 2 years.

Once more, we are back to the present day, Molly and her lawyer are meeting with the prosecutors, who are mainly after one thing, information on the Mobsters. They don't believe that she hasn't got any evidence against them. She explains that she usually does so much background checks on her players but with the drugs towards the end, she got very sloppy at her job.  Charlie, her lawyer, gives a massive speech to the prosecutors, mainly about Molly's character and innocence, to which they finally make an agreement with him. This is immunity and all of her money back, if she hands over the hard drives to her laptops. This is an instant no because there is stuff on there other than the game. Emails from players, asking for an affair, famous people with families that can be ruined, along with careers. He begs her to take the deal, but gets nothing but rejection. She heads outside, ice-skating in the park and as she has some freedom for once, skating too face and not being able to be caught by the workers there, she sees her father standing at the side and she instantly gets distracted and crashes into other people. We cut to them sitting on the bench, with him arriving for her court case. He is a shrink and tells her that he's going to give her the quickest appointment ever. She asks why he was always so mean to her, compared to her brothers, to which his answer is that he knew that Molly found out about the affair that he was having. This led to him being shamed and becoming cruel towards her. He admits that he never stopped loving her and wanting to protect her, but for now, it's back to the case. She refuses to hand over the drive and pleads guilty. The judge himself, finds the sentence, offered by the prosecutors, to be way too harsh. Instead, he pretty much gives her a slap on the wrist and Molly is left to celebrate with her family, left unsure what to do with her new appreciation of life.

The film ends with the opening scene, as Molly lays there, finally coming around and admitting that she is fine. Getting back to her feet and hobbling off with her father. The commentators are astounded by the recovery that she is making. Molly narrates once again, noting that although she has lost a lot, she is learning as life goes on. Quoting Winston Churchill, she pretty much ends with words along the lines of, she will land on her feet somewhere and somehow.

I quite enjoyed this film, being a bit of a sucker for real-life stories, I always find it interesting to know that there are these kinds of people falling into this kind of thing, somewhere out there. There I a lot of back and forth in this movie, but that is clearly needed, as Molly is telling us the story, or telling it too her lawyer and we are being transported back to it, instead of just being told. I'm not too sure as to whether class this as a crime drama, but one thing is for sure, when you're watching this, it's hard not to become intoxicated with the lifestyle, just as Molly was. Chastain does well in playing a woman who clearly wanted to be the best she could, whether through her father's eyes, on her down time or high time, she fought every inch. There is a sense that some of the details would have been held back, no sex or scandal ended up happening? That doesn't seem likely with Hollywood right now. She was the only one doing drugs, not likely. One thing is, I haven't read this book by Molly and probably never will, but this movie was entertaining enough. If Jessica Chastain was wearing one of her dressing and dealing a poker game that I would afford, deal me in!