Don't worry, Lucy. Everything can still be awesome! (Lego Movie 2: The Second Part 2019)

 

 

 

230.

Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

 

 

 

6.5/10

 

We have recently had some instalments of Lego movies, whether we asked for them or not. Some of them more successful than others but now we are having a sequel to the one that began it all. The first movie ended with the younger sister of Finn being allowed to play with their dads Lego, which didn't exactly go down well, bring characters from out of space, destroying things faster than they could be built. I wasn't really keen on the Ninjago movie so I really hope this one can 'build' my confidence back up.
We are sent back into the world voiced by Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks and Will Ferrell as the animated world is destroyed and we are shot 5 years into the future. There is pretty much aftermath of an Apocalypse and whilst every character is adjusting to their new surroundings by being dark and broody, the Justice League have left to fight the Lego Duplo enemies but never returned. Batman stayed to have his own side mission and now remains in a massive mansion. The only person with a smile on his face is Emmet, of course. He has recently been having dreams about a dolphin clock at the time of 5:15 and I doubt this would be the last time we see this mentioned. He has also had images of a portal opening and swallowing all of his friends. A ship drops down above the city and hires a heart at them and as the invader follows their escape, they are lead to Batman's mansion where she introduces herself as General Mayhem, needing to speak to the leader. Emmet is pointed out as the 'Special' but Mayhew disagrees and instead kidnaps everyone else. No one will help Emmet get them back as he is too immature. Could this be a movie about Emmet growing in stature with his fellow citizens?

 

 

The characters are taken to the Systar System, which isn't really an original name considering it's the sister's toys and the leader is Queen Whatever. She appears to be evil, giving an evil persona but also doing her best to persuade everyone otherwise with her song, which was completely annoying. Voiced by Tiffany Haddish, you can imagine how sassy she is. Everyone is convinced, other than Lucy and then the main plan is to unite both worlds with the marriage of Whateva and Batman. On his way through space, Emmet meets Rex, a character also voiced by Pratt, who is a galaxy defending cowboy and Raptor wrangler. In other words, he's Pratt. He gives his back story of being left under the dryer in Finn's home and managed to save himself. They head off to save the day, as Lucy tries to free herself and do the same. At a dinner, Whateva realises about Batman's insecurities are hidden within his ego, not too unlike her own. The only reason that she wants to be with Batman is to make her crush jealous and at first Batman didn't want the marriage but now knowing he is unwanted, ends up properly proposing.

 

 

Upon everyone getting to the wedding, invited or not, we catch glimpse of a few fights. Firstly we have Emmet and Rex arriving with Rex not liking Lucy, believing she is brainwashed. She has a fight with Mayhem, who reveals herself as a scared girl, not wanting to die and is then saved by Lucy before she falls to her death. She explains that the wedding is only to bring them both together as two groups but it seems a lot worse than it actually is. This leads her to think that Rex is actually the true villain, he is the one trying to keep the friends apart. She watches the wedding from afar and sees Wateva take her true form. She is the heart that Emmet built at the end of the first movie all those years ago. Before Lucy can get to Emmet, he is convinced to use his 'grown-up' power and breaks open the portal he dreamed off.
Back in the real world, all of this is taking place because Finn's sister has taken his Legos into her room to play with her own. This is making sense with the story now as Finn breaks in and smashes her toys. This leads to the mother coming in, shouting at them and in the process, stepping on a Lego with her bare feet. Now we all know how painful that is and you wouldn't blame her for losing her shit. She orders them to put everything into storage which, back in the animated world, is the black portal that swallows everyone. Now Rex is ready to reveal himself. He is Emmet from the future, who was a lost toy and after growing bitter, built a time machine from all famous one, even the hot tub and used it to go back and replace Emmet before he got lost. Rex tosses him under the dryer and leaves him for 'dead'.

 

 

Lucy and the gang start to sing about how everything isn't awesome, whilst in the real world, Finn realises how much of a dick he has been to his sister. They used to enjoy playing together and plans on making amends with her by bringing her the heart. Emmet is trying to move from under the dryer in real life and with limited movement and Rex joining him for a fight, it isn't going to be easy. Now that Finn and his sister Bianca are playing again, this frees up Lucy to help Emmet. They use a heart bomb to defeat Rex and now realising how wrong he was and as he disappears into nonexistence due to Emmet being saved. The movie draws to a close with the brother and sister playing together, joining the two worlds into one. Lucy buys Emmet the original copy of 'Everything is awesome' and on close inspection, Emmet notices Lucy on the cover. She was one of the OG's on the song!
By all means, the Lego Movie was a breath of fresh air and felt really fresh but now we wonder whether we should still ask for more. This movie had an upturn in fortune from the movie that came before it but again, it didn't feel as strong as the first or even the Lego Batman movie. There was a deeper lesson to learn for it's younger viewers with the fact that being nice to your siblings means that everyone can be happy and avoid disappointment, just like the first having a hidden message between father and son. The cast has become known for this movie and with the addition of Tiffany Haddish, it added a much sassier role to the cast, with a new song to get stuck in the head, literally and a twist towards who the villain truly was, the character worked quite well. Switching between animation and real-life again worked well and in the end, emphasised the true story that lay beneath. I felt the movie was alright at best. The novelty is starting to wear off a little now and if this was because of a recent poor instalment, only time can tell if I will really get back on board with the franchise.

It's you and me bud. Always (How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 2019)

 

 

 

229.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

 

 

 

7/10

 

How to Train Your Dragon fires back with a third major installment to the surprisingly successful and popular franchise. The first two in the series were the first two movies I watched when I decided to keep tabs on things I was watching. The sub-title for this one is 'The Hidden World' meaning there could be a lot more to come in this story. We are treated to the usual voice actors in this animation as Jay Baruchel and America Ferrara continue their steak and even Kit Harringon is back for another dose. From the trailers alone, we know where this story will lead to Toothless finding love, whilst another dragon hunter comes to wreak havoc.
The movie begins showing our heroes saving other dragons from a ship on which they are entrapped. On returning home, we see how this village has now taken on many many more dragons, sometimes leading to major accidents. One of the old heads at the village suggests that it's about time that Hiccup and Astrid speak of marriage soon, with neither ready to take the next step.
Across the other side of the ocean, we are introduced to a new villain named Grimmel the Grisly. Cracking name for our new killer. Voiced by F. Murray Abraham and looking like a vampire, it's not long until he states his intentions.

 

 

He meets with the warlords that have been capturing the dragons and learns of Hiccup and Toothless and finds himself in shock as he believes that he has killed the last night fury. The warlords reveal a dragon that was left behind at the beginning and it is another Night Fury, but white. Grimmel decides to use this one as bait to grab toothless. Grimmel is far from worried about Hiccup as a kid in over his head. From there, we have a flashback fo Hiccup with his father, talking about the fabled hidden world. Hiccup has always sought to find this place in order to stop the war between Vikings and dragons. Toothless heads off alone at night and bumps into the trap. Being called Light Fury, Toothless is quick in the chase and attempts to woo her, too many failings. He's quick to fall in love and constantly tries to catch her gaze, constantly failing and even Hiccup follows to help.

 

 

 

 One day, Hiccup comes across one of Grimmel's traps. He takes the trap to Erin, Harrington's character, who recognizes the work of Grimmel. He fears that the trap was left to be found as a means to bring them out of hiding. The night ends with Grimmel finding his way into Hiccup's home, tranqing Toothless and expressing his ideas of how Humans and dragons should not co-exist. As he makes his way to Toothless, it turns out to be some of Hiccup's mates dressed up as a trap but this does not slow him down. Summoning some acid-spitting dragons, but our gang make hast and escape. Knowing that Grimmel will not slow down, it is time to leave their home. Hiccup gives a speech that the place of Berk is where ever their people are. Reminds me of Thor and his home to be honest. Problem is, Grimmel is planning on them heading out, tracking them with the warlords and all the while, making some more venom to tranq the dragons.
They arrive at a new island for now and in the clouds during travel, we once again catch sight of the Light Fury. It knocks Hiccup off Toothless' back, thinking he's an enemy. We enter some more scenes of Toothless trying to woo her and later, Hiccup decides to fix the tail fin for good, meaning that Toothless can head off to find Light Fury. Meanwhile, Hiccup's mother has headed back on themselves in order to make sure they were not followed but they were, she narrowly avoids capture to warn everyone. Back with Toothless and he is learning about his actual abilities with help from Light Fury. He can use lightning to disguise himself and as their 'date' comes to an end, he is lead to a waterfall into the ground.

 

 

Hiccup knows of Grimmels intentions and plans on taking the fight to him but once again, Grimmel knows the game and is expecting the move. Narrowingly avoiding capture once again, they manage to make it back to their makeshift home, only to find that they have left Ruffnut behind in the chaos. Hiccup is now being pressured into another way of stopping Grimmel but his mind is elsewhere as he realises that Toothless has not yet returned. Astrid reminds him about Toothless being given his freedom to be with Light Fury, this could mean he won't be seen for a long time.
Grimmel is back in his castle planning his next move, whilst an annoying as shit Ruffnut is on his last nerve. He ends up letting her go but not before she blabs about the village's new location, leading Grimmel to send a scout with her and making his job a bit easier. As for Hiccup, he and Astrid ride to try and find Toothless, coming across the waterfall and heading down into the Hidden World of the dragons. They set sights on Toothless, acting as the alpha male with Light Fury as his mate. Hiccup makes a wrong move and is spotted, being chased by every other dragon until Toothless comes to their aid. On his escape, Hiccup realises that this hidden world needs to remain that way.
With everyone making it back to the island, Grimmel is ready to attack, taking the Night and Light Furies, along with the other dragons as they have captured their alpha. Hiccup once again fall silent, thinking he has failed as a chief but with Astrid at his side, he is ready to round everyone up and go for the throat. As Grimmel presents his prisoners to the warlords, our gang drop in and attack. With Grimmel riding Light Fury and Hiccup on toothless, they take to the sky for the main fight scene. With the acid dragons aiding and surrounding Toothless, he harnesses the lightning and then vanishes. Grimmel and Hiccup once again head towards each other, this time with both tackling each other off their respective dragons as Toothless is tranqed once again. Hiccup orders Light Fury to catch a falling Toothless as himself and Grimmel fall together, tussling in the sky. Grimmel has one hope left of dragging down Hiccup but as Hiccup loosens his own prosthetic leg, Grimmel is left to fall to his death as Light Fury catches Hiccup to save his life.
Hiccup now realises that it is time to let Toothless go and the celebrations do not last long. He bids farewell to his best friend and the two have a tearful embrace. The whole village says goodbye to their dragons as they leave with Toothless to their safe and hidden world below. The scene ends powerfully as Hiccup and Toothless share one last eye contact. A while later, Hiccup and Astrid as finally married and we then move onto several years later, as the two now have a son and daughter. They ride a boat to the waterfall we have seen before and come across Toothless and Light Fury sitting upon a rock with three youngsters of their own. Toothless notices the humans and acts to protect his family, not recognizing Hiccup at first but once the memories flow back with a slow movement of a hand towards the snout as seen in the first movie, the too finally embrace. The families take to the sky as Hiccup narrates the closing scene, explaining that humans now believe that the dragons have all gone but only the Berkians know the truth and they shall protect that truth until the dragons can come back out into peace.

 

 

This seemed like it could be the final film in the series of How to Train Your Dragon and if this is the case, it ended in a really strong way. With another strong storyline, this time revolving around friendships and relationships, it is as though the movie is of a coming of age genre. I think whilst watching, you would always know where the movie was heading and how it was going to end. Bad guy defeated and friends separating for the best and to continue their own journeys to start a family. We have come to know the cast over the series of movies and the main new addition being F. Murray Abraham as Grimmel meant we had someone else to focus our hate upon. He brought a wickedly good voice to the table, one that demanded listening to and this would always be a good trait. Kit Harrington, on the other hand, was as boring a voice as normal. I enjoyed his portrayal of Jon Snow but under the same circumstances, he was always made fun of due to his lack of expressions. As for the rest of the cast, it is always great to see side characters play such pivotal role  It is always good to see an animation away from the mainstream of Disney because it really takes something to be special and standout. We have been waiting nine years for this finale and I believe the ending that was brought to us was very fitting of the trilogy. 

With great ability comes great accountability (Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse)

 

 

 

228.

Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse

 

 

 

9/10

 

So we've been given quite a few Spider-man movies over the years but this one is going to be completely different. This time we are given an animation but from the extended trailer, it looks like a type of animation I haven't watched before. This is already making it stand out for me with its retro colours and graphics, making it look like you are viewing an actual comic strip. Coming with a cast well-known and some new kids on the block, I'm really intrigued by how this Marvel movie is going to play out. We already know that for once, we are not going to be mainly focusing on Peter Parker. This time we are focusing on a younger character, Miles Morales, an African-American lad from Brooklyn. Let's swing into the action.
A quick run-through of the storyline may be enough to give anyone who hasn't seen this movie, enough of a reason to. Then the movie begins with a synopsis of Spider-man's background, told by himself before we settle to Miles' story. Miles is on his way to private school and on his way, he stickers some lampposts with his own graffiti. This is before he trips in front of a police car, driven by his dad and is dropped off outside of school. On entry, he tries quickly to fit in but you can tell his actions and style doesn't fit with the others. That night he heads to meet his uncle, who takes him to an abandoned subway to put a massive graffiti up. We know he's miles, mind the pun, ahead in school but tries to fail on purpose. Being around his uncle, he can be himself. From nowhere, a glitching spider drops down and decides to change Miles' life. Bitten, he thinks nothing of it until we get the usual awkward scene of someone trying to control their powers. Bumping into a really awkward blonde girl and finally going back to the subway to find the spider.

 

 

 

Whilst down there, what seems like a small earthquake hits and a crack opens, exposing a fight between Spider-man and the Green Goblin. Spider-man even has time to save Miles, who has fallen off a ledge. Knowing he too has powers he's willing to show him a couple of moves after this night. Kingpin is trying to open a mortal to the multi-verse and as the Goblin holds Spider-man into the void, we see a flicker of other characters before it causes an explosion and wipes out the surrounding area. Kingpin makes his way down to ground zero and comes across Spider-man, unmasking and killing him.
The news of the death is broadcast around the city and Miles knows it might be up to him to step up. He visits Peter's grave, only to be disturbed by someone who is a canny resemblance of the dead hero. He electrocutes him by accident and is chased through the streets by the cops. Once he's woken Peter up, he explains that he needs to help, explains the portal and that the other Peter had given him a USB, which can help to shut it down. Problem is, he's broke it when trying to jump from a rooftop. Right now, he's wearing a fancy dress Spider-man outfit, which he bought from a seller who looks a lot like Stan Lee. Finally being allowed to help. The two head to Kingpin's lab to get the info that was once on the USB. They find it in the female head scientists room and Miles once again cannot control his powers. That's until he is told to calm down by doing something he likes. He starts singing and his drop to the ground alerts the scientist. Miles finds a new super-power though, he can now turn invisible. Prett handy. Peter is interrogated by the scientist, who is, in fact, a doctor and not just any doctor. Her enemies call her DOC OC! Love that twist and here come her extra arms. They head into the woods to escape, only to get into a spot of bother and that's when we are introduced to another Spier-person. This time from a third universe. This time its Spider-Gwen and we've already met her. She's the blonde from school, who was acting awkward because she also knew that Miles was like her. The three finally escape and head to the only place they can create a new USB, apparently. Arriving at Aunt May's, who back in this Peter's dimension, is dead. They have their introductions and explanations and then she takes them underground to her real nephew's lab. There they meet some others who have come through the portal too. We have Noir Spider-man, voiced by Nicholas Cage no less, we have an actual pig named Peter Porker and an Asian style hero with a young girl in a robot spider that holds her dad's brain or something.

 

 

 

Each come with their own characteristics and each ready to go back to their own time. Now in this time, we have found out that Kingpin is doing what he's doing because he wants his family back. They once walked in on him fighting with Spider-man and driving away from him. On their way, they died in a car accident and no he wants to gain them back from another dimension.

 

 

Now with the plan in action, they need to make a start. Not a great start though as one of Kingpins henchmen has rounded up the troops and followed them to Aunt May's, the thing is, this henchman is actually Miles' uncle Aaron from earlier in the movie. He refuses to kill his nephew and instead is killed by Kingpin. Miles' carries the body to an alley where he is found by his own dad, obviously remaining masked, he flees and once the body is recognised, an arrest warrant is put out for Spider-people. The gang doesn't take well to Miles not being in control of his powers and web him up as they go to complete the final mission.

He finally has a little control of his electricity and escapes, heads to Aunt May's and makes himself a new outfit. Now a really clever scene takes place if you were paying attention. When they first came underground as a gang, Miles went up to the case the Spidey outfit was in. You could see his reflection around chest height. This time, it seems like he's ready the reflection is head hight and Aunt May swings around in a chair like a Bond villain with a cuppa and asks what took h so long. Making his new outfit with a graffitied spider on the chest, he heads to a rooftop and begins a swing. We switch back to the gang and their fight with the villains as they try to shut down the portal but not before they return home. They know one has to stay behind and our chubby Peter has offered to do so. There's nothing back home for him now. That's until they start to lose and it takes Miles' introduction to save them.

 

 

Kicking arse, they finally get around to going home, saying their goodbyes and Miles' filling Peter with confidence to make it up with MJ and then dropping him through the portal. We get a final fight between dimensions between Miles and Kingpin before the day is saved and our new Spiderman can reap the rewards from his unknowing father. The movie ends with a recap of Miles' new confident life, making friends, swinging well and at the end, we hear Gwen's voice addressing him before the credits roll as a portal opens. The movie is dedicated to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko before an after-credits scene shows Spider-man confused pointing at another futuristic one.
I loved this movie and may well have seen it more than 5 times already this year. A couple in the cinema and a few on flights. This was a completely different approach to the Spider-man movies and I think that's what worked so well for it. With so many characters, it may have been easy to get lost but the way it introduced each one's back story in, at times, humorous way. Talking of humour, it really was in abundance for this movie and it was far from out of place. You had deaths of family members and main characters which really were sad and affected the characters but the humour quickly brought the audience back. The cast was really clever, not only to have a mix of ages, styles and ethnicities but even bringing in a bloody pig character. There was someone for every style of audience member, even the farmyard animal. The style and animation were the other major talking point. The way it was made to look like a comic book at times, even with little pop-ups and animations like a Japanese cartoon was really clever. It's not something I've seen on the big screen before and I was unsure how I would take to it but it only added to the enjoyment. I'm really interested to see where they go next with this movie and what the future has in store. This is definitely up there in terms of favourite Spider-man and even Marvel movie.


Yeah, he'll take a bowling ball to the bollocks! (Fighting with my Family 2019)

227.

Fighting with my Family 

 

 

9/10

 

Being a WWE fan since I can remember, back when they were actually great and called WWF, this movie is going to show the background of one of their most recent pioneers on the female side of the curtain. We are about to see the rise and rise of Saraya Knight, also known to the wrestling world as Paige. Florence Pugh is going to bring her to the big screen and with Nick Frost playing dad, Lena Headey playing mom and Vince Vaughn as our main coach, it seems like we are going to get some British comedy with an American heart. Being written and directed by Stephen Merchant can only be a good thing, surely? Let's get into the ring and see what's in store.
The Bevis' are a wrestling family, doing the rounds across Britain and we are quickly introduced to young versions of the siblings as they fight over the TV. They are stopped by their dad, who shows them better techniques. This then skips into the ring as they are teaching local kids in the family gym. Zak, the brother and Saraya, now going under the name Paige from her favourite TV show, often perform on the circuit. Zak's missis falls pregnant and the two families have to meet over dinner at the Bevis household. Being from two different worlds, The Bevis family are vulgar and come with no filter, whilst the other parents are much more upper class. During dinner, the family receives a call that the siblings have been asked to try out for WWE. 
On arrival, they bump into The Rock who gives them his own style of pep-talk and then head into the ring. Hutch Morgan played by Vince Vaughn, puts them bother and others through their paces and at the end, Paige is the only one chosen. She runs after Hutch, demanding that he also takes Zak but that isn't an option. Zak is the one who demands that she does it for the family. They have an older brother who is in jail after not taking the same rejection too well. She gives in and heads off to NXT to training.

 

 

In Florida, Saraya feels really alone. She's a plain girl with a gothic style whilst the other girl involved are mostly models or the cheerleader type with zero experience of wrestling. She gives it her all but is truly exhausted. Calling home now and again to let the family know how hard it is out there. We don't see Zak much though, as the parents are making loads of money off her success already. They don't really seem to care for how she is actually feeling and are trying to live their dreams through her. This is what they wanted for themselves and are not kind of forcing it on their children. Saraya tries to get in touch with her brother for some support but he's no help. He too jealous and even calls Hutch begging for another shot, but is told to just leave it go. Back home, he ignores the wife and child and even the students at the gym.
At her first match with NXT, Paige is badly heckled by the crowd and the other divas take advantage of this on the mic. This leads her to change her image to a blonde, tanned piece, just like the others. Back on the bus, this turns nasty as she thinks the other girls are talking about her but they are actually only chatting about their families and reasons for them being there.

 

 

They argue with Saraya, telling her that she never really made an effort with them and this is overheard by Hutch. Outside the bus, she asks why Zak was never chosen. He explains that he saved him from a life as a jobber, which would alienate his family and lead to injury on the chase. This is exactly the life that he led until this training job. Given the advice to quit, Saraya heads home for Christmas with a choice to make.
Whilst at home, she is made to perform with her family and Zak, in his jealousy, doesn't hold his punches. The night ends with him breaking the news to the parents that Saraya is thinking of leaving the training camp. The father is tamping but the mom actually supports her decision, all whilst they are driving around to find Zak. He found his way to a pub to pick a fight with a group of lads. Before it gets too nasty, the dad is there to drag him away and he once again storms off. Saraya finally catches up with him and they have a right barmy. He doesn't want her to throw away the one thing that he can't have. She's left to explain that he has a girlfriend and child that love him and he's in fear of losing them.
Saraya has made her decision and she going to carry on the Paige persona, going back to her black hair and pale skin. She trains harder than ever and makes friends with the other girls in any way she knows how. The older brother is now out of the joint and even Zak is coming around, making amends with the students and begins training again. Paige survives another round of cuts and as a reward, the group is taken to Wrestlemania. Hutch brings her into a private office and in walks The Rock. Hutch leaves and Paige is asked to call her parents with The Rock wishes to talk to them. At first, they hang up, not believing that it's truly him. He tries again and this time, after a little proof, they listen to what he has to say. He breaks the news that Paige will make her debut on TV the night after Mania. All of this after Paige thinking that this was the end. Everyone, as you can imagine, are both shocked and thrilled. The next night Paige is in the dressing room, waiting to debut but is clearly nervous. The one person she can call is her brother, who clarifies everything and tells her to get out there. She heads out, beats the champ and becomes champion on her first night.

 

 

 She addresses the crowd, finally being successful on the mics, telling them she done it for the misfits and that this is 'HER HOUSE NOW', which is a trademark phrase for her these days. The text at the end explains how much of a trailblazer Paige has been for the company and as the credits roll, we are treated to snippets and pictures of the real family.
I absolutely loved this movie and even got around to seeing it on the big screen twice. Being a fan of wrestling and knowing the story that came after this movie definitely helped with the enjoyment but I think this movie possessed such a storyline that anyone who doesn't know the ins and outs may want to go away and follow up on the rest. As each hit came from the movie, I found myself getting more and more invested. Smiling as she got confirmed to be on raw and even getting goosebumps. They had changed the end a little as she was already a champ in NXT and didn't shy away from the mic like the ending to this movie but it worked much better for the storyline to have her be more confident and address the misfits after she held the title. The acting is this was very good and an almost complete cast. Vaughn as a drill sergeant, just like in Hacksaw Ridge, was a very good role for him. The comedy came from Frost and Headey, which took away from the rest of the seriousness within the story but they could switch to such just as easy. Florence Pugh gave us a great account of a troubled girl, torn between what life choice to make and struggling with the journey she was on. This is the first time I have seen her on the big screen and I very much doubt it will be the last. This may be a movie that will go under the radar in a lot of circles but believe me, give it a chance even if you're not into wrestling, mainly because the story and a true story at that, is a mix of emotions and brilliant watch. It truly is a fight with her family.

You as rich as Jay-Z? (The Upside 2019)

226.

The Upside

7.5/10

When someone mentions Kevin Hart to you, you think comedy and that could be stand-up or a movie. Now link him with Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman and we have a charming remake of a real-life relationship between two of the unlikeliest of friends. Cranston is going to be playing a quadriplegic who is not short of a penny and Hart is a parolee, looking to reconnect with his estranged wife. This movie was originally a french movie called 'The Intouchables', which was a massive hit in some European movies, but as expected translating this into English means the lazy audience doesn't need to read the subtitles.
The movie begins pretty abruptly with Hart's character Dell, speeding trough Chicago with Cranston's character Philip in the passenger seat. They have a bet on that he can't lose the cops and although he does for a little while, they end up being cornered and needing to lie about Philip having a seizure and they need to get to the hospital. After an escort, they laugh off the night and head home. The little print of '6 months earlier' appears and now we are about to find out how we got to this night.
Del has recently been released from prison and is set the task of trying to find a job. The only thing he really cares about though is the signatures so he can at least prove he is trying. The last interview of the day is with Philip and his assistant Yvonne, played by Nicole Kidman. Tired of waiting, he barges into the office and demands a signature but first, must tell Philip about himself. Finding out about the jail time, Philip asks what it was for but in exchange, Del tells him that he has to have the job.

Out of nowhere and to the displeasure of Yvonne, Philip agrees but thankfully for her, Dell turns down the offer and just wants the John Hancock. Dell heads off to pick up his son, who has already been picked up by the mum, so he heads over to theirs and neither seem to happy with his appearance. The apartment is a shithole and it's the kids birthday. Dell gives his son a book as a present but it's one that he's stolen from Philip's place.
Before Dell knows what's hit him, Yvonne is on the phone to invite him back to take the job. That's how miserable Philip is that he wants the least capable person to be his caregiver. She instantly gives him three strikes but Dell needs to keep this with it being a live-in job and pays handsomely. The job starts a little rocky as he isn't too pleased that he needs to feed a grown man. The nurse comes in and gives him the run-through on how to do each daily chore. That includes the use of the catheter, which obviously brings a hilarious scene. Slowly but surely, Dell starts to adjust to everything and Philip instructs him that he has DNR rule and this is put to the test one night but Dell knowing he needs the job, forces Philip to breathe.

The first paycheck is a real eye-opener for Dell, who hands it straight to his old missis. She's obviously happy about it, that's until Del asks for the book back, instantly knowing it was stolen. He must do his own dirty work though and after finding his son talking to some stranger, he misses the chance to get the book back as some kids are messing with Philip's car and he is called by Yvonne. She gives him the third strike and Dell is only saved when Philip tells her that he gave Dell permission to take the car and see his son. This grump is coming around a little bit, as expected.
The relationship moves on as they smoke weed together, Philip admits that he is in a relationship with a lady that only involves writing to each other and Philip even reveals his past. His wife was suffering from cancer and Philip suggested going paragliding to take his wife's mind off things. This lead to his accident and the condition that he is in now. With a tear shed and Dell in need to a scheme to cheer Philip up, he suggests taking him for food and chats about some ideas he has to start a business and needing Philip's help. He evens convinces Philip to call the woman he has been writing too. Philip joins Dell in taking his son out for the day and we finally get the book back. Philip was still unaware it had been taken. The kid realises who it belongs to, gives it back to Philip and retreats back home.  Philip's day gets even worse when they return home to find that Yvonne has set up a surprise birthday party. You'd have thought she would know that he hates people. Retreating to an office, Philip and Dell begin an argument as Dell starts smashing the place up and this brings Philip back down to earth. He wishes he could do the smashing and lives through Dell for a short time. This unwinds his and eventually they decide to head into the party. He even finds out that his love interest has agreed to meet him.

 This doesn't go well though as she leaves their dinner as a bad memory for Philip. She didn't expect to have to do so much for him and on him trying to leave, he bumps into a couple of people and has boiling hot coffee spilled on his lap. On arrival home, he takes this all out on Dell, as he is the one who pushed him to meet her. He fires him!
Time passes and Dell has paid for a new place for his ex and child. He now has a new job working with cars and as for Philip, he's run through plenty of caregivers but his nurse has made it clear to Dell that he hasn't adjusted and communicated with any of them, even Yvonne has left him. He begs Dell to come and see him, trying to get Philip to come back around. Dell finally heads over, finding Philip hasn' had a shave in a while and takes him out, leading to the encounter that started this movie. They end up going out of town, to a place that Philip can relax and Dell ends up setting up paragliding for him, unknowingly taking part himself. On landing, Dell takes Philip to a hotel bar and sets up a meeting with Yvonne, leaving the two to catch up as he heads to spend some time with his son.
Always one to dabble with a true story, I was not disappointed. I have obviously not watched the French original but I can only imagine the story wouldn't have differed far from the true story. It has a weird charm about it from start to finish as we watched these two characters, as far on opposite sides of the spectrum as possible, bounce of each other with some great charisma and this was helped with the cast of Cranston and Hart. They certainly didn't add a blotch to their CV's by starring in this. The storyline itself showing the growth of our two main characters as both didn't realise they would be accepted in such a way and managed to not only come out of their shells but could then be happy once again when things seemed really bleak. This keeps the audience invested because although we know, as per experiences in this way, there is going to be a falling out of the two main characters and a getting back together, it was still nice to see how this came about. Mixing between humour, seriousness and even sadness, this movie takes you on a little rollercoaster for a couple of hours. 

Survival is a CHOICE! (Escape Room 2019)

225.

Escape Room

 

 

 

6/10

 

Being a lover of going to an escape room or two and horror being a favourite genre of mine, it's interesting to find out what happens when the two cross over. This has the makings of a random horror that just acts as a filler, with a cast that I've never seen before and probably never will again and a storyline that I can imagine won't be going up for an Oscar, this movie will be one of those filler horror's that will be as entertained as maybe having the humour to carry it through. Will this leave me needing an escape plan half way through?
The storyline only needs a quick run through as we are introduced to some of the characters, each one their own person as we have a businessman, a trouble-making teen, a geeky, lonely teen girl and so on. Each one shows their flaws in their lives before being sent a mysterious box.

 On managing to open the puzzle book, they find it holds an invitation to a new kind of escape room with big prizes. On entering the first room, we are introduced to a couple of more players until they realise they are actually already in the game. It's a massive oven which is slowly cooking them alive. This is not an escape room that I'm used to.

The second room I even get the answer to the lock and as for the third, it claims the first victim. Now each escape room as a hidden meaning to them. It shows each participant's darker past, whether they were at fault for someone dying, were actually a killer or just simply got lucky enough to remain alive in a situation that no-one should have survived! Whoever created this escape rooms means for the players to try their luck once again. Obviously, some aren't making it but now our geeky girl has worked out that she can beat this game.

She starts smashing the cameras in a room that is now meant to poison the remaining four players, as one dies, two others move onto the next room and leave the girl behind. They are now head to head in a trippy room and they've been dosed up with some drugs. There is only one needle available to bring themselves back to reality and a fight to the death ensues as our teenage grumpy guy wins, leading into the final room. The room's walls as closing in and in the final moments, he absolutely flukes an escape. The girl on the other hand as faked passing out so that the runners of the game head in, which she attacks and heads out into the back area. She comes across a surveillance room that shows the true extent of what is going on. There is a game going on for the rich who are betting on who would remain alive. They believe that she is dead and now she is big-time under the radar. Her and the remaining guy are seen meeting up at the end of the movie, a short time in the future. She wants to take the fight to the man, finding out their headquarters and plan for the next game. The transformation of her character is astounding. It didn't take long to convince the fella and the audience is left wondering if there is enough meat left on the bone for some sort of sequel.
The film reminded me a lot of the Saw franchise. With the number of gruesome antics and deaths, past being brought up about the players and activities that need to be done to move on to the next task, it really did feel like another turn they made. This took a bit of the shine away from it as although getting the fad of escape rooms into the genre, it still felt like it's been done before, even a little recycled. The major talking point would definitely the transformation of the characters. Now that would mean them coming of age or actually going the other way. We have confident team players turning into selfish arseholes who do anything to survive. We have youngsters who are either innocent until death or turning from cowardly nervous experimenters into their own leader, fighting for survival and for the happy ending. The movie was enjoyable as a one time watch, even maybe twice so that you can take in anything that you may have missed the first time but it's far from going to go down as a classic. Does add a touch of escapism though. 

I do not standby in the presence of evil! (Alita: Battle Angel 2019)

 

 

 

224.

Alita: Battle Angel

 

 

 

7.5/10

 

 I decided to experience this movie in a new way. I was invited to watch the premiere at a nearby Odeon, which included watching the stars arrive live on a blue carpet, representing Odeon, interviews with the stars and even a pre-filmed questions and answers segment. All in all, I think I was at the cinema for around 4 hours. It was a pretty decent experience to gear the audience up for this. This film has been a long time coming and to put that into perspective, James Cameron had to choose between making this and turning his attention to Avatar. We know the choice he then made, moving this idea onto Robert Rodriguez, taking more of a backseat. This would be the last movie before 20th Century Fox merged with the Powerhouse of Disney. We are about to fitness a few familiar faces of Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, hot property Mahershala Ali and the lead role of Alita played by Rosa Salazar. Let's dip in and see if this was worth the wait from is transformation over from the Manga series.
The Earth is 300 years in the future and after a massive interplanetary way, the world is a complete shit hole. Dr. Dyson Ido, played by Waltz, is going through a scrap yard and after finding a broken down cyborg with an intact human brain, he takes it home, gives it a new body and names it Alita. Growing up, she is treated as a daughter, befriends a fella called Hugo, who isn't far from the love interest in this story and all of this is new as Alita has no memory of her past life.

 

 

 This is always going to lead somewhere deeper and darker because they made the point of the forgotten memory really early on. In the meantime, Hugo's way of taking Alita's mind off things is to introduce her to Motorball, which is a battle royal tournament, played up in the wealthy sky city of Zalem. Thing is Hugo a little bit of a prick. He steals parts from cyborgs for the tournament owner named Vector, played by Ali.
Now one night, Alita becomes a little too curious and follows Ido as he creeps about, she thinks he is the one stealing cyborg parts. Once she sees he is being attacked, she instinctively fights back to protect him, kicked ass and making one retreat underground. Ido reveals himself to be a 'Hunter-Warrior'. Altia believes that if she carries on fighting, it may help her remember who is actually is. The cyborg that retreated heads off to Vector's place to be fixed by Dr. Chiren, the estranged wife of Ido. Keeping up? Alita can't help but wander off and in a crashed ship, finds a crazy cool cyborg body that she wants to use. Ido recognizes this as a berserker body, an army trooper from Mars during the great war. Just as a standard spoilt brat, Alita storms off and takes matters into her own hands. She signs up to be a Hunter-Warrior, then moves onto recruit people in a seedy bar to attack the Cyborg from earlier. Zapan, another bounty hunter, provokes Alita and she kicks the shit out of him. Before she knows it, the cyborg she's been looking to fight shows up, upgraded and ready for battle. She ends up being cut into pieces but not before putting up a fight and even with just a torso, one arm and a plucky attitude, she still manages to get a decent blow to the guys head.

 

 

 With an 'F Bomb' and stab to the eye, she is quickly helped by Ido and Hugo, along with a fellow hunter she is carried out, with Ido apologising for putting her into the situation and finally putting her body into the berserker armour.
Having now fallen in love with Hugo, Alita wants to earn the money to be able to send him up to Zalem. She has a trial in Motorball, hoping for the prize money but things don't go to plan. With Hugo having seconds thoughts about his secret job, he decides to quit but Zapan is back, killing the cyborg stealers and the cyborg, framing Hugo along the way. Now Zapan is being sent by a higher power than Vector. Someone called Nova fleets in and out of peoples bodies. He seems a very high society figure from Zalem, but we are yet to meet them in person. With Hugo begging Alita for help, she leaves mid-battle and goes to save him from Zapan. This evil cyborg mortally wounds the boy but Dr. Chiren appears from nowhere and offers to attach Hugo's head to Alita's life support. Zapan is watching on a sees through the trick and still attempts to stop Alita. He wants the bounty that has been placed on Hugo but he guards stop him, leading to Alita stealing his blade that she has long wanted and slicing off half of his face.

 

Hugo was always promised by Vector that he would get him up to Zalem. Ido, who has now attached Hugo to a cyborg body, reveals that this was always a lie. Most of the background and stories in this move tends to be a lie. The only way to get up to Zalem is too be a Motorball champion. On finding this out, Alita loses her shit once again and heads to the factory owned by Vector to confront his lies. By this time, Chiren is in a few cases as she has been harvested for her organs. Vector summons that everlasting Cyborg from the beginning named Grewishka but Alita's new body now makes easy work of him. She forces Nova to come to her through Vector and after this superior figure threatens her family and friends, she fatally stabs Vector.
Returning home, Hugo has left to climb one of the cargo tubes to Zalem and after a quick chat, Alita convinces him to come back. This doesn't exactly go to plan though. Defense rings slice the boy in half. She tries to grab him as he falls but his arm starts to break off and after a thank you, he slips below the clouds.
The movie ends after moving months into the future. Alita is now the star of Motorball, looking to make her way up to Zalem the only way she knows how. She wins the latest race, pointing her sword towards Zalem. Above, we finally get a glimpse of the onlooking Nova and with a smirk on his face, we see it's, surely it's not, yep that's Edward fucking Norton. Where'd he come from?!

 

 

This movie had many good points but it didn't go without some bad features too. From the first trailer, the graphics and idea of this movie had drawn me in. It looked beautiful and sometimes this means that the rest of the movie suffers if all of the eggs are chucked into one basket. It lived up to all expectations and watching the movie in 3D only enhanced this. The story itself was intriguing and stayed that way until the end. There were a couple of twists and turns and even if you could guess that characters were going to switch sides for one reason or another, it was still cool when this came to fruition. A major downfall was that it seemed to be too much of a story. There was a lot of fit into two hours and this felt rushed at times, with too many side stories taking place. If you missed one thing by taking a toilet break, you may have been buggered to catch up for the next scene. Finally the acting, we know Waltz is going to be cracking and this was no different. Playing the protective father role before knowing this was a lost girl who needed answers. Moving onto Salazar, mind the pun but the acting was a little robotic. Now I don't know if this was intentional and I'd like to think it was, otherwise it was a little awkward. The movie ends with the potential of a sequel but with the underwhelming success of the first installment, unfortunately, I don't know if it will happen. The movie made a decent wedge of cash but will the outcry be there from the fans?