Author: BRWC

Once you have seen a Vince Vaughn comedy, really you have seen them all. The main theme might be different, but the structure is normally always the same; a loveable rogue is just getting by, he gets into sticky situations but it all turns out alright in the end. That should be a negative, but actually that’s what adds to the charm of these films. The pattern is reassuring and the final moral message leaves the audience warm and fuzzy inside. Delivery Man fits this stereotype perfectly, it is stupid fun that doesn’t break comedic ground, but will always be a crowd pleaser.

Based on a true story, David Wozniak (Vaughn) is surprised to find that he has 533 children due to his 600+ sperm donations he made during his college years to pay for a family holiday. His sperm was so successful it was given to every client, and now a huge amount of the children are trying to uncover the identity of their father ‘Starbuck’. The children begin a lawsuit to claim that the anonymity clause should be broken and that his identity should be revealed. David gets curious and dips anonymously into the lives of his children, and the deals with the moral choice he has to make.

I won’t ruin any more of what little surprise factor there is, just in case you are a Vaughn fan and are set on watching this film. Despite the predictably of the film, no one can detract the star quality of Vince Vaughn. In a film with little to support him, he does carry the film well with his loveable charm. As for the rest of the cast; Britt Robertson doesn’t do a bad job as Kristen,  and Sébastien Reneé steals the show as David’s disabled child. Cobie Smulders also plays David’s long suffering pregnant girlfriend, and confirms that her stony unemotional performance in Avengers Assemble can be recreated almost exactly in other films too. 

If you’re having a quiet night in and there’s nothing on tv, stick this on and you’ll have a giggle, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to watch this. Not only are there are better films,  but there are better Vince Vaughn films.

This Rock Doc tells the story of Arnel Pineda, a Filipino rock singer who after being discovered by the band Journey on Youtube is chosen to be their new singer. In the face of fan doubts, new found fame and the chance to live his dream, how will Pineda cope with the tour?

This is an amazing story with everything you could want from it; rags to riches, overcoming of temptation and it all couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Pineda comes across as incredible humble and while we see him struggle to maintain his humility in the face of sold out, 30,000 seat crowds, he remains grounded and a real star.

Whereas Overnight showed the dark side of overnight success, Don’t Stop Believin’ is far more positive, and really it has no choice but to be thanks to Pineda’s unwavering humility and optimism and Journey’s timelessly uplifting rock ballads. Pineda’s voice is really something to behold and is enough to create some authentic chills witnessing his immense talent blossom.

It utilises great story telling techniques like mirroring Journey’s rise with what Pineda’s story in the same era, allowing for great depth into Pineda’s life and how miraculous this meeting was. On the other end of the scale, the bulk of the film is clips of the stage show and Pineda’s “I can’t believe this is happening” fly on the wall moments, which can get slightly repetitive.

A big thing about this that some rock documentaries lack is showing just how hard life on the road is. It isn’t just being away from people and being tired, but maintaining your health and what it means to act as a professional in this setting.

While it finds itself covering the same ground from time to time, overall this is an uplifting and heart warming documentary full of goosebump inducing classic rock anthems and a real heart in subject Pineda.

Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey is released on DVD and Blu-Ray June 30^th

Ginga is the spirit of Brazil, a mentality “of fighting hardships with…toes, heels and hips”. Ginga: The Soul of Brazilian Football hopes to show how this particularly Brazilian trait makes for the world’s most consistently outstanding football team through the profiles of 10 different, especially ginga rich people.

At first, I thought it would be a look into what makes Brazil so amazing at football. Instead, it was a display of the Brazilian love of life, their passion for whatever they do and the excellence this mentality reaps. Never has one film made me feel so out of shape and complaisantly over privileged at the same time.

There has been a real effort to cover an interesting cross section of Brazil, spanning gender, age, economic status, culture and spirituality to show how universally ginga is a Brazilian trait. Be they rich, rural or even handicapped, it doesn’t matter; ginga flows through all of their lives.

It displays the skill of the 10 it follows and the passion they have for their chosen ginga outlet like football, footvolley or capoeira. While they are all massively talented and show impressive ginga, it plays more like an audition tape for those featured. Unlike recent release Next Goal Wins, Ginga is more football than documentary so those without much care for the sport may feel slightly under involved.

This under involvement also spreads into the film making where the involvement of Nike really shows. There is plenty of soul and heart to be found, instead of being a documentary that investigates, its displays. While I didn’t know anything about ginga going in, what I left with was a knowledge of its existence and a definition, not a greater insight as to its historical context or deeper meaning to Brazil culturally.

While Ginga works as a great warm up for the fast approaching World Cup, is a wonderful visual spectacle of raw talent and is a must see for every die-hard football fan, it isn’t a doc that offers much insight into its subject.

Ginga is available on DVD now

Ginga: The Soul Of Brazilian Football from Mr Bongo on Vimeo.

Beyond The Edge tells the gripping story of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tezing Norgay’s ascent to the peak of Mount Everest in 1953, the first people to achieve this amazing feat.

The film directed by Leanne Pooley uses video and audio archive footage interwoven with new dramatic realisations of the events leading up to this amazing success. The story is a massive part of history and this film does it a real justice. The cinematography of the new dramatisations is absolutely stunning and real hits home as a viewer the true scale of this achievement.

There is no real criticism I can give to this film, it is well thought out, directed, acted, and produced.  If you know nothing about this historic event or everything about it, you should watch this film.

The film is been released in 3D which I have unfortunately been unable to see. However if the nature of the newly filmed footage is anything to go by, it will be truly stunning in 3D and well worth the watch.

4/5

Paintball and D-Day enthusiast? Look no further for something to fill your very niche combination of loves. Soldiers of Paint is a documentary about one of the biggest paintball events in America, an epic recreation of the D-day invasion of Normandy. The event takes place every year on a 700- acre stretch of land in Oklahoma, with a hefty 4000 people taking part.

The documentary follows the preparation and the lead up to the event, from the perspective of the organisers, and from the people taking part. The organiser is the grandson of a veteran of Omaha Beach, and owns the large expanse of land that becomes the battlefield, and is essentially what allows this recreation to occur. The organisation is a substantial task, and a lot of effort goes into making the event as realistic as possible. They build buildings especially for the event, have tanks and airplanes, and try and include relics from this era, such as original bridges. The collection of artefacts that has been collected is quite impressive.

As for the participants, there are essentially two teams, the ‘French’ and the ‘Germans’. The recreation does not have any restrictions once the game has begun, so in theory the Germans have the opportunity to win. My preconception would be that they turn up on the day and have a bit of a plan and then go for it spontaneously. I was mistaken. The people that take part in this are completely committed to their potential success. They spend months planning their strategies and will try and sabotage the other players by listening in on their calls, planting moles etc. The camera crew also visit the families of the participants and you see just how much time this event takes up in their lives.

It is an abstract idea for me, taking something like this so seriously, but there are many other hobbies that people become just as infatuated with, why not this? During the documentary there were some strange comparisons between the paint balling and one of the most terrifying battles of all time, but overall it was quite a respectful tribute to veterans.

Although the event does look like it would be a good day out for the participants, watching this documentary was a bit of a struggle, due to my lack of interest in the subject and the actual content. There is some footage of the actual battle, but this does not salvage interest that has already been vanquished by the in-depth preparations. Not exactly thrilling viewing.