Art has to be more than, ' My life is great and I'm really good a drawing (American Animals 2018)

 

 

 

203.

American Animals

 

 

 

 

 

7/10

 

 

Another Odeon Screen Unseen and I have not even heard of this one before hand. On twitter, with the clues that Odeon were giving out, people had guessed right, but that's as far as my knowledge would go about this movie. I only recognised one face going into the movie and that would be Evan peters, who has been recently playing Quicksilver in the X-Men movie franchise. It's always a little more refreshing going into a movie after not seeing a single trailer or knowing the back story so let's find out if this could be a beast of a movie.

A very simple story brought to you in a different kind of style. We will be following the real-life characters as they tell us about the events, which will then been shown by the actors. A heist movie focusing around students looking to steal a collection of rare books based around animals that they set their sights on, on a tour of their University.

 

 

 They realise it's a bit too much for two people and enlist a few others but from the start, we can see that most of the gang want to cancel the heist. There is so much nervousness that it carries it through to the audience. Warren, played by Evans is the only one that is truly rebellious and wants to carry on with the elaborate plan.

 

 

 

 

 Dressing up as old men and setting up a private appointment to view the books, they arrive at the University and end up 'shitting out' at the last minute. The decide against the disguised in the end, after a failed attempt and instead, act as business men and suddenly get into the zone.

 

 

 Warren becomes a different kind of animal, he tases the librarian and has Eric tie her up, getting into the collection and leaving though a back door to a lift and clumsily making their way to the outside. In the panic, they have to leave the biggest books behind but escape with the rarest.

The lads heads to an auction house to get authenticated, which their black market buyers would desire. One of the lads leaves his number with the curators and this doesn't go down well. They can instantly be tracked and as soon as Spencer realises this, they are deep in the shit. All of the thieves show great stress as they try their best to lay low and keep out of sight but as this all unfolds, the FBI closes in. Slow motion shows each of the lads getting taken, one by one. The movie ends with us being told in text that each served over 7 years in prison for their list of offences. The movie draws to a close with the real-life robbers telling us of their regret for everything that happened. They put their on families through pain and also the librarian. Warren, the slightly crazy one, tells us that h may have fabricated the story of going to Amsterdam to meet some black market buyers. Telling the others this story in order to get the wheels in motion. Tying all loose ends, we are told what each of the guys are doing now, each living a better life but we are never really told whether they are still in touch with each other. 

 

 

This was a very interesting story with a real-life heist, with younger people involved and a ultimate failure by the end. The more interesting factor was that we kind of had interview from the real robbers, who should content against each other by the end of the film. It shows desperate measures for some and just a need for trouble from others. With a relatively unknown cast, you can focus on the storyline a bit more rather than taking in the presence of certain actors too much. The storyline itself is pretty simple and cant be extended too much but it's definitely made more interesting when each robber gives their version of the events and how they seen it, which changes the onscreen activities by the actual actors. I do like a true story, of sorts and mixed with a heist and a fail, which you don't seen too often, especially in a fictional heist movie, it was refreshing. For once, Odeon's Screen Unseen have chucked us a decent film to watch. This will never be a world beater and maybe not even seen by many, but I enjoyed.

 



Doing nothing often leads to the best kind of something (Christopher Robin 2018)

202.

Christopher Robin

 

 

 

 

5/10

 

 

Disney have given us a live action movie of a group of characters that never really interested me in my youthful days. Winnie the Pooh and the gang are back and the storyline is a pretty simple one with a very deep, hidden meaning that may be missed by the younger viewers. With a cast of Ewan McGregor and Hayley Atwell, there are a few familiar faces that can help carry this movie onwards. Will this help me raise my views on a cuddly lot of characters?

Looking at the storyline follows Christopher Robin and his family. Starting with a younger Robin, who is moving away for school needs and having a leaving party with his stuffed animals, he arrives at a strict school and soon looses all sense of imagination. Fast forward many years and Robin has gotten married and even had a daughter. He works in a pretty decent role within a luggage company, underneath a demanding up lazy manager. As for his home life, Robin is planning on sending his daughter to boarding school also but everything else at home is suffering due to the pressure of his job. He even has to cancel a weekend getaway in order to make cuts in work and do some paperwork. In the Hundred Acre Woods, Pooh has lost all of his friends and the Woods are pretty deserted. Believing that Robin knows what to do, he heads off to track him down. Tired, he rests on a bench and of all the benches in London, it's on that Robin ends up sitting near.

 

 

 

 

Shocked to see Pooh, he reluctantly agrees to help out, simply so that he can be left alone afterwards. His form of helping was just to get Pooh back home but ends up going through the tree into the Woods and doesn't believe there is a villain lurking around. He soon regrets his words and the fact that he shouted at Pooh when they get separated and starts to hear some things.

 

 

 He eventually find the rest of the characters, all without Pooh and everyone hears a Heffalump in the area. Knowing there is truly nothing there, Robin fakes a fights scene and fights off the Heffalump, allowing his old friends to come out of hiding. After the activity, he heads back home to finish his paperwork. On his way out of the tree, which is at the cottage he used to live in, he bumps into his wife and daughter, who are spending that weekend getaway there. He lies about the fact that why he is there and adds to the disappointment when he explains that he needs to leave again.

Back inside the Wood, the gang find Robin's paperwork and he isn't going to get far without it. They decide they return to get to the real-world and return it to him. He once called it the important things and they need to give it to him or a Woozle, or his boss, will eat him. On the way, they bump into Robin's daughter Madeline, who recognises them from her father's old drawings. She joins in on the adventure and they all manage to get on a train. She wants her dad to reconsider sending her away and maybe this will help.

 

 

 She has left a note for her mum, played by Atwell, who instantly heads off to track them down. When Robin arrives for his meeting, he opens his bag to find that he doesn't have the paperwork and the bag is instead, full of sticks and random things from Pooh. As he tries to save the meeting, Evelyn, the wife, bursts in and shows him the note from their daughter. He notices the word 'expotition' and knows that Madeline is with Pooh and friends. Madeline has reached London and after a ride in a suitcase on the back of a van, the gang make it to Winslow's Luggage and find the paperwork, which instantly blows away in the wind. Fail.

More importantly, the family reunite and there is a promise exchanged that Dad will be around more, be a better father and Madeline doesn't need to move away. Evelyn even gives an off-handed comment which leads to an idea from Christopher in order to save the company. He heads back into the office. He stands up to his boss and aims his comments at the Senior of the company instead, stating that people going on vacation can by the luggage rather than just the wealthy. This is agreed and no one needs to be laid off work. The film actually ends with Christopher Robin taking his family to the countryside cottage and introducing his wife to all of the stuffed animals in the Hundred Acre Wood.

The characters seemed a little dull to me and nothing special because we didn't really need to much from them. I couldn't really get into the movie too much as I have never enjoyed the Disney characters at all. Going along with the dull theme, even the bright colours of each stuffed animal had been toned down a lot, making them look tired and worn out, maybe as much as the idea of using them is. The only character I could actual relate to is Eeyore. That's because, now as an adult, he has gone more this sad, moaning horse to a character that actual speaks the truth about life and how draining it actually is. The story of a family nearly torn apart by work and not making the time for each other is one of the main theme throughout this movie and it is quite a factor that can feel personal for many of the audience members, making sure that they never forgot some important aspects in their life. In all seriousness though, if the need for income is more important than a weekend away, then that truly is just how life goes. It is a decent family flick with a dark start and a brighter ending but I can definitely live without seeing this movie again.

 



 

Done properly, parenting is a heroic act... done properly (Incredibles 2 2018)

201.

Incredibles 2

  

 

 

 

7.5/10

 

A film that a meme has been created about and that's just involving the anticipation. 14 years is a long time to wait for a sequel, especially when so many fans wanted this to come a lot faster, seeing as Cars had two sequels already. We welcome back most of the original cast, with Dash's voice actor being swapped out after the original lad's voice had deepened. One interesting thing to know before going into this movie was that the story carries on from the last movie that ended 14 years ago. I'm excited to see what this has in story after Disney relaying some newer movies and their characters on us and announcing some unneeded live-action movies.  Let's get into it and find out if it's as incredible as we would have imagined.

The movie begins with the boy that Violet Parr likes, Tony, sitting in an interrogation room with Agent Dicker. He is clearly flustered and explaining that he seaw Violet at a track meet, they got talking and organised a date. Minutes later, the Underminer has attacked and Tony is hiding under a car until he feels a little more safe, before stumbling across the Incredibles and stopping that Violet is one of them, after she removed her mask in an argument. He admits to Dicker that he feels bad for just running off from her. He should have said hi and now he just wishes that he could forget he even saw her in the super suit. Little does he know that his wish is about to come true.

The title rolls up and we are back into the fight with the Underminer. He is robbing banks, causing destruction and all whilst fighting off Mr Incredible. He even manages to escape, leaving his main drilling vehicle to carry on the destruction. The family works together to stop it with a little help from Frozone, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. This is instant action, showing each of the characters abilities whilst also showing that they are, in some way, a normal family. In the aftermath, because 'Supers' are still illegal, the family are instantly arrested and sent back to their hotel. Dicker gives them a ride and Violet tells her father that Tony many have recognised her after her taking off the mask. Once dropped off, Rick tells Bob that the unit has been shut down and they can no longer protect the 'Supers'. They say their final goodbyes to him, before sitting down to a family meal in their small hotel room kitchen. This soon leads to a full-blown argument about how illegal they actually are and that they need to be careful now. That night, Frozone comes to meet them at their hotel and lets them know that someone is interested in talking to the three of them.  A businessman named Winston Deavor and with the married couple out of options other than getting a normal job, they agree to the meet.

The three head to a huge building in the city and after a meeting, learn that Winston is a huge fan of superheroes, mainly from his father being so friendly with them. His sister is the brain behind the operation and is also the main technician.


 They organise mini cameras to be fitted inside the suits so that people can witness how tough it is for the 'Super's to do their jobs. People only see the after effects and the bad that the government portrays. The sister, Evelyn, is voiced by Catherine Keener, fresh off the back of some 'Get Out' acting. She is constantly being acknowledged by Elastigirl for doing a lot of work in the plan ahead. The brother and sister want to bring 'Supers' back into a good light and will start this with Elastigirl, mainly because Mr Incredible is too heavy-handed. This doesn't go down well with Bob but, you know, girl power. They own a company called Devtech and want to right some wrongs but Elastigirl, or Helen, is still unsure. Back at the hotel, Bob isn't too happy with the indecisiveness of his wife. She thinks that the children need her but Bob offers to be the stay-at-home dad and she needs to be the breadwinner. Dash is struggling with Math, Violet is having boyfriend issues and Jack-Jack is simply a baby. Neither of them knows that the baby has powers. They come to the agreement that they need to take Winston up on his offer.

A limo is sent to pick up the family and take them to their new mansion, which instantly excites everyone. Elastigirl is given a new suit which isn't designed by Edna and Bob teases her about this. She even gets a new motorcycle and is back in the zone as she speeds down the highway. He first assignment is to stop a runaway hover-train, which she does without casualties and without damage to the area, putting her straight into the good books with society.

 It turns out that the train driver was hypnotised by his TV screen, with someone called The Screenslaver, sending Elastigirl a welcome back message. Back home, Bob isn't exactly doing too well. Jack-Jack keeps escaping his cot and has had a fight with a raccoon, showing all his new powers. Dash is still struggling with Math and Violet has been stood up for her date. He covers all of this up in a phone call with Helen though, as she gets excited about how her own day went. That night, Bob struggles to sleep so wakes, learns some new Math and wakes Dash up a little early to help him with his work. Back with Elastigirl, she is getting ready for a live TV interview, which takes a turn as once again Screenslaver sends a hypnotic message through the signal, threatening the life of the foreign ambassador. Helen makes her way to the control room to find everyone being drawn in by this TV announcement. Evelyn hasn't looked at the broadcast yet so is still immune, whilst Helen looks for a window in order to save the ambassador, who is taking off in a helicopter from the roof. Eventually doing so, she lands safely, saving everyone involved.
The next morning, back at home, everyone is getting ready for school except Violet, who looks rough as toast. She isn't happy about the night before and Bob accidentally let's slip that it was Dicker who erased Tony's memories of Violet. She grabs her super suit and fails in trying to destroy it in front of the rest of the family. Vowing never to be involved again. Things are going better for Helen though as there are now supporters of the 'Super's again, gathered outside the Devtech building. This is only good for business. Helen is still worried about the Screenslaver but Winston tries to calm her by bringing her into another room which contains more 'Supers', who have come out of hiding thanks to her heroics.

They all chat for a while until it settles down and we are left with Evelyn and Elastigirl still chatting about things until Elastigirl has a brainwave to catch the Screenslaver and track his signal. Evelyn agrees to help and build a device to do just that. They try the interview again but this time, the presenter is simply talking to Elastigirl through a monitor as she is in an undisclosed location. She is actually on a transmission tower and when the Screenslaver taps in again, she is able to track him down, swinging through the streets like Spiderman and ending up at his apartment. Beating him and unmasking the guy, he suddenly appears shaking and without a clue as to what just happened.
Back home, Bob is again trying to make things right. Taking the family for a meal where Tony works, making it awkward for Violet. Helping Dash once again with Math but that is until a TV show is interviewing a millionaire who has bought Bob's old car. He thinks it had been destroyed and even still has the remote control for it. He messes around with it until ceasing after Dash steals the remote. On the couch, Jack-Jack sneezes and teleports himself into Violet's room, who screams as he then turns into a troll. The kids are incensed as Bob hadn't told anyone about the powers. They even call Lucius, or Frozone as we know him, to help out. He realises that Bob needs some relief and one way for this would be to get Edna to babysit. She clearly comes across as someone who doesn't do children but once she realises how many powers the baby has, she jumps at the chance. On his return home, a defeated Bob apologises to Violet and drops off for a long sleep on the couch. At Winston Deavor's house, a party with the 'Supers' is ongoing after the Screenslaver capture but Helen is still uneasy, thinking it was too easy. She slips away from the party, wanting to re-watch the footage of the capture and notices that the screen in the guy's apartment was linked to her mini camera on her suit. This means that someone is in on it, this guy wouldn't have hacked it but lived in such a simple apartment. She looks at his mask, thinking he too was hypnotised, leading to his apparent confusing and as she gets close, BOOM, Evelyn slaps a pair of hypnotising goggles onto Elastigirl's head. I was thinking someone was in on it. I thought it would be Winston in his desperate need to get Superheroes back legal, but it's the sister. A nice surprise.

At Edna's house, Bob has gone to pick up the baby, which is now presenting the characteristics of Edna. She puts him into a chamber to show Bob what suit she has created for Jack-Jack and a little computer system to track him when he teleports to another dimension. He finally has some control. Helen wakes up from her trance and finds herself strapped to a chair in a freezing room, which means that if she stretches, she will shatter. Evelyn reveals herself as the real Screenslaver, wanting to make 'Supers' illegal forever because it cost her parents their life when they were never saved by an illegal group of heroes. She isn't going to kill Helen but is going to use her instead. Evelyn calls Bob at home to let him know something has happened and he is needed ASAP and as he arrives at the DevTech, he is ambushed by Elastigirl who puts up a fight until he shouts her name and she seems to recognise him, even whilst wearing the goggles. She goes in for a kiss but it's a trap and plants some goggles on him. Before leaving, Bob called Frozone to come and babysit but as Violet and Dash open the door, we see the other 'Supers' from the earlier party, all wearing goggles and wanting to force themselves into the house. In the background, we can see some snowflakes and know that Frozone has arrived. This leads to a fight scene involving everyone, Dash calling Bob's old car and Frozone being captured and fitted with some more goggles. The kids escape in the car and immediately want to save their parents, heading to DevTech and even turning the car into a boat as the party has no moved onto a yacht.
The reason for this party is for all ambassadors to sign and make 'Supers' legal again. The boat is full of other ambassadors and their heroes but Evelyn has another plan. The kids have made it onto the boat but some of the hypnotised 'Supers' have found them and time and again, there a little fight scenes between them all. The ceremony has gone live on TV and once signed, Evelyn controls Bob and Helen to tell the world that they don't serve people anymore, just themselves. They reach for the camera and the feed goes dead. Back at the studio, the presenter nervously tells the audience to stand by. Our main three heroes lock everyone else in a room and head up to the bridge to destroy equipment and leading it back to the city with everyone now believing that 'Supers' are evil. We know how this is going to end though, as the kids make it to the bridge and Jack-Jack uses his powers to remove Helen's goggles, who then removes Bob's and Lucius' in turn. Things are starting to take a turn as they then remove everyone else's. Evelyn knows shit is hitting the fan and grabs her brother from the room with everyone else, who are now being hypnotised but a large screen. They make a break for a plane but Winston refuses, knowing that she did wrong. Elastigirl jumps aboard and fights to bring the plane down, still wanting to save Evelyn. The other 'Supers' in turn, try to stop the ship and finally get the job done, leading to the mass of onlookers realising that they saved the day. Evelyn is arrested and all Helen can think about is that she missed Jack-Jack's first powers. All in all, the parents are proud of their children. Days later, a judge rules to make them all legal again.
The movie ends on some high notes, with Violet reintroducing herself to Tony and them going on a date but as they are dropped off at the cinema but the Incredibles, some criminals drive past and the family all make eye contact, knowing they need to act. Tony is sent in to buy some popcorn, assured Violet will be right back. Bob puts the pedal to the metal and the family is back!

The family was back with a bang. It's hard to say you would expect it to beat the first instalment, which in my opinion, it didn't but it was still a good movie. Bringing back a family that the company has been hounded to give a sequel too and releasing it ahead of time only added to the excitement for the audience. With the usual storyline and hidden villain, there isn't too much to say regarding that side but the turn to the female being the main hero and the man being the stay-at-home dad was a switch around that the writer knew was always going to happen. Taking away responsibility that Bob has always felt and for some reason, yet again needing to show some 'girl power' whether it be Helen or Evelyn and actively showing them giving nods towards each other on the screen as if they were always useless before. There is also a much better subplot in this movie and that is of a family coming together, through parents being protective to the kids wanting to protect their own parents, along with an undertone of being accepted in society for being different. Each way you look at it, Disney and Pixar always add something for every viewer. There was humour, seriousness and altogether a lot of fun in the movie. We waited long enough.


I'm gonna be a pilot. Best in the galaxy. (Solo: A Star Wars Movie 2018)

200.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

 

 

 
 

7/10

 

Every year we are getting a Star War movie thanks to Disney and they usually come around December time. This year, due to their own ideas about how successful their latest instalment was going to be, it got thrown at us pretty early on. I'm not going to complain too much because I was in the same mind frame. This wasn't part of the main trilogy that carries on after The Last Jedi, this was going to be featuring a young Han Solo and his story. Just like Rouge One was a one-off, this could be the exact same scenario. Alden Ehrenreich is going to be tasked with bringing one of Harrison Ford's most famous characters back to the big screen and this is no easy task. The rest of the cast isn't too bad either. We have Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Paul Bettany and Emilia Clarke. I have a little problem with Clarke because although her character in Thrones is a dry cow, she transferred this across in the latest Terminator movie and I hated her acting. I really hope she's better in this. Before going in, it was hard not to read some of the so-called critics rip this movie apart but one good thing was how highly Ford spoke of the role played by Ehrenreich and that's the highest praise you could get. Let's get into this and find out if the idea of bringing a young Solo to the screen should have been left in a galaxy far, far away.

 The movie begins with the traditional 'A long time ago...' but without the scroll and then moves downwards with a mini heist gone wrong for Han and Qi'ra. Once apprehended, we instantly get back into the style and quick wit that we have come to know from Han. We've seen a kiss scene with Qi'ra, so there's the love interest. The main task for them was to steal a fuel called Coaxium but when this goes wrong, they are forced to try and leave the planet in a high-speed chase through some streets before arriving at a spaceport and carrying on, on foot in disguise.

 Han makes it through 'immigration' but the girlfriend isn't lucky enough. She gets taken and Han is broken, joining the Empire to become a pilot and work his way back to this planet and find Qi'ra. As he signs up, he is asked his name, to which he actually doesn't have a last name. This means that it was someone from the Empire that gave him the last name of Solo, with him not having 'people' that he belongs to.
Three years later and Han is on a war field. He's been kicked out of the academy for not listening to orders. Most of the army on the ground have been killed and Han comes across a small group, one with Captain medals and state that he is in charge now. His name is Tobias Beckett, Harrelson's character and along with his girlfriend Val, Thandie Newton ad an alien voiced by Jon Favreau named Rio. They aren't really there for the fight and are instead looking to steal a ship for a heist they have coming up. Han, who is sick of all the conflicts, wants to join them and threatens to turn them in if they don't let him join. Instead, they turn him in for desertion and he is chucked in with the 'beast'. Now for those wondering where Chewie is, wonder no more. There is a bit of silence and grunting before we hear that familiar noise of Chewbacca entering the scene. Han and this massive hairball have a fight and Han attempts to use Chewie's language to calm him and get them to work together for the escape, which works and even after trying to run in opposite directions, Han explains that they need to catch up with Beckett and his gang in order to escape. They are finally let on board and get off the planet. After cleaning themselves up, they take some time aside to have their first normal chat and exchange names. Han explains that Chewbacca is too long of a name to keep saying and explains that he needs to think of another, shorter name to call him, hence the birth of 'Chewie'. Val still isn't too happy that the pair has joined the crew.
The crew rest on a new planet and they discuss what each will do with their cut. We mainly focus on the fact that Han wants to still return home to Qi'ra, whilst Chewie is on the lookout for his own family who has been enslaved. Their plan is to steal some Coaxium from a train and although they are almost successful, a gang of marauders ambushes them and shit starts to hit the fan. Val ends up still needing to blow the bridge, which she does but takes her own like. Rio gets shot and ends up dying, leaving Han to need to turn pilot and attempt the heist with only Beckett and Chewie left hanging from the carriage. In order to save them, Han cuts the cables and no-one gets the Coaxium, which doesn't go down well with a grieving Beckett, who explains that the Coaxium wasn't for himself. We saw the full force of the Coaxium exploding, bringing down nearly a whole mountain and getting across the point that this concoction is really bad business.
The delivery was meant for a criminal named Dryden Vos, Paul Bettany's character, who is the leader of the Crimson Dawn. Beckett fears to let the duo accompany him due to Vos probably wanting to kill them all. The three get to a luxurious ship that screams bad guy with its colours, clientele and the fact that upstairs, Vos is instantly seeing killing a guy with something that looks like a knuckle-duster with mini lightsabers out the side, it's pretty cool. I'm going to make this clear now. I do not like Paul Bettany as an actor. His voice irritates me massively and I just dislike his roles. This also crosses over into Marvel with how boring Vision is as a character anyway. This though could work. I could actually buy into this villain because I already dislike the actor. This reasoning soon comes to fruition. He's a smarmy bastard and doesn't care about anything. Back at the party, Han is told to keep his head down and don't talk to anyone. This doesn't go well though as he feels a tap on his shoulder, turns around and it's Qi'ra. She's working for Vos, who had helped her out of a tough situation. The gang are heading to Dryden's office and up there they discuss the failed mission and how they are going to make it right. This time they'll die if they fail and Qi'ra has to attend the mission with them, to Han's happiness. She isn't best pleased but knows she has no choice.
The team needs to go to a planet, get some Coaxium that isn't stable and head back to another place to drop it off with Dryden Vos. In order to do this well, they need a decent ship and you'd be an idiot not to see where this is going. They walk in on Lando, who is played by Glover, playing a game of cards and loving it.

 He's a confident guy and after a battle, ends up beating Han, with a little help of something up the sleeve. Still though, after meeting his once friend Qi'ra and negotiating a cut with Beckett, Lando joins the crew. He brings with him a smart female droid, who is busy protesting against droid fights that reminded me of watching Robot Wars when I was younger. There's quite a bit of humour and tension brought to the screen between Han, Lando and the droid named L3-37. We are then lead to our first look of the Millennium Falcon, which looks clean and almost unused. Arriving at a mining planet to collection what they need, Qi'ra poses as a woman selling slaves. Beckett is the bodyguard and he's wearing a familiar outfit. It's the disguise Lando used to infiltrate Jabba's palace in Return of the Jedi. They finally take out some guards, free the slaves that are already there and cause a riot so that they can get to the lower levels a little easier. On their way, Chewie finds his own family and goes after them to free them all and this comes with Han's best wishes. We know they won't be apart for long and after Han gets the Coaxium and needs help to get it out, in comes Chewie and the rest of the hair bear bunch to save the day. They get the Coaxium on board and are against the clock to make it safe. We do have a casualty though. The droid is down and Lando has been shot on trying to retrieve her. As Han flies out, they are found by an Imperial star destroyer and now they must evade them through the Maw, which is a cluster of black holes.

 So the plane they came from was called the mining planet of Kessel and we are about to witness Han do the 'Kessel Run', another homage to other movies. Lando points out that no-one can do it in less than 20 parsecs, which wouldn't give them enough time to make the Coaxium safe. Using a piece of L3's navigation system, they find the only route out that they can take but on they way, they run into a massive monster and need to shake that off first. Beckett injects a small amount of their bounty into the Falcon and boom, they are done in 12 parsecs.
The team is set to meet Dryden on a planet named Savareen and when they think they are nice and relaxed, the same team of marauders from earlier turn up. Han tries to bluff them with a huge team of gunners on the Falcon but Lando has had enough and flies off. The actual marauder theory isn't true though. Beckett always thought this but their leader, Enfys Nest reveals herself as a small resistance against the Empire and doesn't want the Coaxium in the Crimson Dawn's hands. She wants it for her own fight. A plan needs to be made. Beckett doesn't want to be part of it and instead flees the scene. We are left out of the actual plan and instead follow Han, Qi'ra and Chewie as they bring the Coaxium to Dryden. On inspection, he instantly knows that they are fake and shit starts to hit the fan. There was an inside man who grassed them all in and this man was Beckett. He had filled Dryden in on the outline of any betrayal that was coming. Han however, has thought this was coming. Earlier in the movie, Beckett has told Han never to trust anybody. This is the rule he followed and the Coaxium in the room is actually the real deal. Beckett sees his chance, take the Coaxium and Chewie as ahostage, leaving the ship and the rest to fight amongst each other. Qi'ra turns on Dryden and after a fight scene, stabs him with his own blade and tells Han to chase down Beckett. He does so and Beckett tries to sweet talk his way out of it, whilst also slowly reaching for his gun. Han notices this and shoots first, killing him. That right, Han shoots first! Meanwhile, back on the ship, Qi'ra contacts her true boss and this is probably the best moment of the movie. Up pops a hologram of a shadowy figure and after a few seconds of the conversation, the figure reveals themselves. It's Darth Maul! The thing is still alive.

 She fills him in on the mission's failure and is soon appointed in Dryden's position. She leaves on the ship with Han and Chewie watching on helplessly. Han is left with simply giving the Coaxium over to Enfys and her team. She offers him a chance to join ranks but he declines and is left with a vial of Coaxium for his troubles. If I never have to mention Coaxium again, it would be too soon. The movie ends with Han finding Lando in another card game and this time he manages to steal Lando's cheat card during a handshake. Han wins using it and even wins the Falcon before going along with Chewie to follow up a lead on Tatooine after Beckett mentioned a job for the Hutts. We end with a scene in hyperspace and I'm buzzed. 

I really enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I would. It seemed like Disney hadn't really backed this film, which could give anyone doubts but the only way is up from there really. It was filled with nostalgia and even a few mini storylines that are linked to the original trilogy. It really helps to have seen them to link up but if you're watching this movie, it should be easier to track the links. The cast works really well and Ehrenreich gives a really good account of Solo. The characteristics, even with his gunning stance and the wit, all add to the role. Even Emilia Clarke did well, especially how awkward a felt after seeing her in Terminator. Paul Bettany is far from my cup of tea but as already mentioned, hating him always adds to the hatred when he's going to be playing a villain. The graphics for this were phenomenal. Between each planet, space scene and how each creature of character was perceived, there was always something interesting to draw you further in. I much preferred this to The Last Jedi, by a long way and even with the ending, it felt like I would even want a sequel. Darth Maul has become a cult character over the years for many and to see him back on the screen added to many people's excitement. The studio had a massive amount of pressure on them for this movie and I'm glad that it came through in my opinion.

Of course the wolf can fly! (Rampage 2018)

199.

Rampage

 

 

 

 

7.5/10

 

Here comes Dwayne Johnson again. Does this guy ever take a day off? Together with Jeffery Dean Morgan, they bring us a movie based on a video game, which I never had the chance to play. This is yet another movie that brought us a trailer that made it look like a very interesting watch. I love a good creature feature. It looked a really interesting idea for a story with a mix of these giant 'monsters' fighting and Dwayne Johnson smack bang in the middle of it all. Could this one have a better storyline to go along with it being graphically great, unlike skyscraper? Or will this movie be nothing more than another forgettable game adaptation?

We are quickly thrust into the '90s and looking at a piece of tech called CRISPR, which is developed and quickly used for all the wrongs reasons. In the present day the tech has been sent up to space to experiment with and one of those experiments, a lab rat, has mutated and killed the entire crew except one lone survivor. She contacts Energyne and she is ordered by the CEO to bring the samples back to Earth or never to return at all. She heads to get some samples, being tracked in the shadows by a huge rat and is quickly tracked down and enters the escape pod with the rat as a partner. The pod isn't in the best shape though and explodes, killing its passengers and scattering the samples across the country.

At an animal sanctuary in San Diego, one of its workers with apes, Davis Okoye played by Dwayne Johnson, leads his co-workers into one of the pens to meet Pavo, who attempts to find a female to mate with. Davis talks the ape down gentle, just before a massive albino gorilla comes rushing in, causing Conner, one of the co-workers, to freak out and upset Pavo in the process. He runs after Conner before George knocks him on his arse and heads after Conner himself. It turns out that he's only messing about and Davis has to have a word with his ape buddy. After their shift, the other co-worker Amy, who has obviously taken a shine to Davis, asks him out for a drink. He rejects it and once asked by Nelson, his mate, why he is closer to animals than people, his reaction is that they just 'get him'.

That exact night, one of the mutated samples makes it into George's enclosure and he hurts himself by touching it. Another lands into a forest and is greeted by a wolf. The last finally lands in a river in Florida and we know what Florida is famous for other than Disney. Davis is called in first thing in the morning to check on George. Nelson tells him that he's actually in the Bear enclosure. There, they find a dead bear and a scared George, hiding in a cave. He has scratches on his chest, signalling that he was attacked first but as he steps out, we can see that he has grown several feet taller.

 News reports have started to hit the airwaves about the mutagen. Kate Caldwell, played by Naomie Harris sees this on the news, as does the brother and sister duo of Brett and Claire Wyden. They are the ones in charge of the mutagen and are freaking out over the money they are set to be losing. Claire is actually impressed that the experiments for 'project rampage' are successful. She suggests employing a private military group in order to fix things, if shit does spill over. Kate has headed into the sanctuary to speak to Davis about what has happened. I'm not too sure what her role is yet but this is usually a lead up to the male and female duo to save the day. All I do know is that I finally recognise her as Calypso from Pirate of the Caribbean. She actually then claims to work for Energyne and was inside working on the mutagen itself. She may be able to stop the growing and when we see George next, he is inside a cage, growing by the minute, until he breaks free. The ape is scared and knows nothing else than to escape. He terrifies the guests and as Davis runs after him, so do some cops and a helicopter, frightening him even more. Davis manages to talk George down before it gets worse but the ape is hit with a tranquilizer and passes out. So far, this is like an albino Might Joe Young.

 

The military group has moved into action, led by Burke, who is played by Joe Manganiello. They are heading into the forest to find one of the mutagen samples. This doesn't end well though as firstly they find some dead wolves and then most are taken out by the mutated wolf, nicknamed Ralph. The thing is huge! He doesn't go down with normal bullets, leading to Burke to call in the helicopter. The wolf has none of it though, leaping out of the trees in slow motion and making easy work of the chopper. Burke is then corner by Ralph, who ends up taking him down in one gulp. It felt strange seeing a face a new in a movie and him actually lasting only one scene.

 A government agent played by Jeffery Dean Morgan and named Harvey, arrives at the sanctuary to take George on a plane and keep him away from the public. Davis and Kate are also taken for questioning. Davis isn't too happy about having the ape trapped on a plane. Knowing how quick he is growing and how frightened how he will be once he wakes. Harvey comes back to the pair with some news. He's looked into their history and found out that Kate had been sacked by Energyne for stealing research. She's actually done some prison time and all of this leads to Davis realising that Kate could never help George.

Back at the 'baddies' headquarters and Claire has learnt about the problem with the wolf and for some crazy reason, believes it's a good idea to set a frequency in which to attract the wolf and the large alligator to Chicago. The alligator has only been seen through water so far but already has the nickname 'Lizzie'. George, although still outers, hears the frequency and starts to come around. He ends up in a full rage mode, taking down the plane and almost kills Harvey until Davis steps in. Davis hands out some parachutes and himself, Kate and Harvey land with a bit more safety.

Once the landing is secured, they notice that George is heading towards the city and Davis is still in the opinion that he cannot trust Kate at this time. She fights her corner and explains that her brother was stricken with cancer and she hoped that the mutagen would be a cure for him. Then she learnt that the company was using it as a weapon. When she tried to make off with it all, she was caught and obviously arrested. Davis then shares a story of his own. One of how he found George hiding underneath a poacher's truck. Harvey finally wakes and is thankful to Davis for saving him because George had knocked him out and Davis put the parachute on him and made sure he was ok. Harvey is onside and now wants to help the pair. They all meet with a military group that has been tracking George and Ralph as they head into the city. Harvey helps the pair steal a chopper and heading into the city to find out what is attracting the animals.

 

Once the three creatures have all made it to the centre, they start an all-out 'rampage', attacking each other, causing carnage and flattening the city. Knowing that they won't be able to bring these monsters down, the pair knows that they need to head to the headquarters of Energyne in order to find the antidote. Finally making their way to the lab, they are met by the evil siblings and held at gunpoint. Claire breaks the news that the antidote won't cure the animals but will take away their heightened aggression. Claire then ends up shooting Davis and taking Kate as a hostage as the pair try and get to their own chopper for an escape route. This is until the monsters have started scaling the building and George ends up smashing down the chopper in a scene that looked like King Kong. Brett does a runner and leaves his sister to attempt an escape. Davis has made it up top, bleeding but surviving, he saves Kate but Claire is also forcing them to help her out. Davis ends up distracting George for Kate to take the antidote vial out of Claire's bag and she punches the sister, shoving her into George's path who eats her without pause. Downstairs, Brett has made it to the front door, without a care for his sister, where he comes across Harvey. God knows where he has come from this time. He orders Brett to hand over the laptop he is carrying, giving him the reason that once he is free of the research, he can go. The coward leaps at the chance, only to be flattened by a falling piece of the building.

Back to the top and Kate and Davis have given George the antidote, waiting for it to take effect. The other two monsters have made it to the top and Davis, along with Kate, head off in the spare chopper. They manage to get a bit of air time and avoid the destruction for now. The tower finally collapses and the chopper hits the bottom. These two shouldn't get into an air vehicle again! George emerges from the rumble, now back to his friendly self and ready to join his friend Davis in taking down Lizzie and Ralph. There's also word that the military is ready to flatten the area in order to stop this, so Kate and Harvey's new plan is to put a stop to this. George battles the best he can, but it turns out that the wolf can fly and shoot quills, because why the hell not. Even Davis makes a joke about this. Davis makes the wolf fly towards him as a trap, knowing that Lizzie will pipe up and take him down. Biting his head off, it's now turning its attention to George.

 He's thrown and impaled against a fallen structure. Davis underarms a grenade belt at the alligator's neck and also uses the guns from the chopper but it barely causes a scratch. Davis is nearly dinner until George steps in. He leaps into the air with a pole and rams it straight into Lizzie's eye socket. This has finally killed the bitch. The movie ends with a saddened twist. George is clearly hurt by his wounds and as he holds Davis' hand, he dies. This is until we learn that he was messing around before giving Davis the middle finger. The heroes of the day head off into the sunset, wondering where George is now going to call home.
I am a bit biased for a creature feature, no matter the origin or plot at times. This would go for Kong and Godzilla movies that are in the pipeline. This movie was based around a video game but I have no idea what that entails and I never looked to play the game myself. This gave me a blank page to go into this movie and find out what it was about. I was too disappointed. The story was completely over the top but I'd noticed that from the trailer. I didn't expect the ape to turn bad for a period but once this happened, it was very predictable that he would turn back to good. That goes for the predictability of the ending too. Dwayne Johnson pretty much played the same guy as he always does. The witty brute who doesn't shy away from anything. There isn't much else to walk about other than the graphics. Nothing seemed outdated and terrible. The movie is what it is and being completely unrealistic only added to the enjoyment. I was constantly wondering what more could come from the creatures involved and the story itself. The easiest way to watch this would be never to take it to seriously and just enjoy it for a full on damage fest between some completely over-exaggerated animals and 'The Rock' in the middle of it.