‘Tenet’ was a film I had vaguely heard about but honestly had no interest in until I was recommended the trailer by a friend, and I’m glad they told me to watch it.
‘Tenet’ is written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight Trilogy, Interstellar) and stars Robert Pattinson (High Life) and John David Washington (The Old Man & the Gun) as agents who are tasked with stopping a deadly threat to humanity and the fabric of reality.
This is what I could guess the film was about from seeing the trailer. In 2 minutes, it practically says nothing about the plot aside from John David Washington going through a test to join an organization, and him and Pattinson being involved in something; something that might be connected to time travel.
Even though I wasn’t keen on Interstellar, it was visually stunning, and I have faith that Nolan will give us a very entertaining and interesting film with ‘Tenet’. The mystery of the trailer has definitely caught my attention and, the second time travel was introduced, I was onboard with this.
Cats: The BRWC Collaboration Review – Written by Megan and Kerry Williams.
A couple of days ago, I went to see Tom Hooper’s big screen adaptation of the musical Cats. As my background is not in musical theatre, I asked a guest with this knowledge, Kerry Williams, to supplement my review through her eyes. This is what she felt about Cats:
With award winning music, lyrics adapted by T.S.Elliot’s poems and the sensational ground-breaking original choreography by Gillian Lynne, the big screen adaptation of Cats should’ve been a sure fire success. So how have they got it so wrong?!
Megan had asked me to attend the screening to help review the musical theatre side of the film ……I wish she hadn’t! The screen choreography, by Andy Blankenbuehler, was dismal and uninspiring. With so many talented dancers from The Royal Ballet Company, New York City Ballet and experienced performers from the West End and Broadway, I cannot fathom why he didn’t make use of their prodigious talents?
In fact, the dancing was very limited with only the occasional glimpse of ballet from Francesca Hayward, and Steve McRae’s tap-dancing skills. The singing was passable, although Jennifer Hudson’s constantly running nose was a distraction. Her characterization of Grizabella had nowhere to develop as she started so distressed that there was little moving room to see how desperate the character gets towards the end of the film.
At the end of the stage show, Grizabella desperately sings the final lines ‘Touch me, it’s so easy to be me’ with such heart rendering sorrow that you are moved to tears. With the film version I just wanted to stand up and hand Jennifer Hudson a tissue and tell her to give her nose a good blow!
The only redeeming feature was Robbie Fairchild as Munkustrap, who literally carries the film. Robbie is an exceptional dancer but watching this film, if you blink, you will miss him dance. I was literally gripping hold of the cinema chair with embarrassment throughout the film and at one point, when the music builds to the heart stopping dance number ‘Jellicle Cats,’ I wanted to stand up and shout at the screen ‘For Gods sake do something – anything but don’t stand there in a position that looks as if you’ve wet yourself’!
It was 2 hours of my life I’ll never get back and I feel sorry for the talented performers who were in it, who deserved be in a film that this young generation could be inspired by, as I was as a young student watching the original production.
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As for myself, I grew up watching the recorded Broadway production on VHS; it was one of my favourite musicals. It was unique and exciting and, while I think this would’ve been a challenging musical to bring to the big screen, I couldn’t help but think how did director Tom Hooper get it this wrong?
When the first trailer came out, it received backlash and criticism due to the CGI and face merging on the cat cast. While it does look like something out of Basement Jaxx music video for ‘Where’s Your Head At?’, the weird CGI is only a part of the problem of why Cats is the worst film I’ve seen this year.
The original show’s main focus is on the dance choreography and music, with the plot being a minor part of the action. And that’s fine if the dancing in this was any good…but there wasn’t any. Like my guest has mentioned, the ‘dancing’ consisted of side stepping to the music and their ability to not wet themselves in the process. The score was actually very good, while the songs were very hit and miss.
Jason Derulo’s performance as Rum Tum Tugger was lukewarm at best; he was clearly the wrong choice for the character, and it’s obvious that Derulo was chosen to play the character based on his name alone. In short: he was trying too hard. The rest of the cast were trying their best with what little direction they were given.
Francesca Hayward, who plays the lead character Victoria, was bland and was presumably told that her only job in the film was to make surprised faces at everything she saw. I actually feel sorry for her because this was her big screen debut. She does get an opportunity to show off her singing talent with the new song ‘Beautiful Ghosts’. However, the impact of the song is taken away by the terrible continuity editing of the scene. E.g.: in one shot, Francesca is looking down at the ground but, in the next shot, the camera is facing her and she’s looking up. Basic editing mistakes like this occurred throughout the film.
The song ‘Macavity’, which was sung by Taylor Swift, was completely wasted. Taylor Swift was the worst thing in the entire film and was also trying too hard to be sexy. Rebel Wilson was awful and playing the same character that she does in every film. Adding insult to injury, her song (‘The Old Gumbie Cat’) was terrible, and the visuals were equivalent to a drug trip; if Tom Hooper wanted to be the next Cronenberg, then he succeeded with this number.
Even Idris Elba, whom I usually love, was unconvincing as Macavity and couldn’t act as the villain to save his life. This is the man who voiced Shere Khan in 2016’s The Jungle Book! Out of the whole cast, Jennifer Hudson was one of the best voices in the film.
It’s no secret now that Cats was rushed, and an incomplete version of the film was sent to cinemas; this is the version that we got to see. An example is during the ‘Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat’ number. A small group of the cast are walking along a set of train tracks, which are unfinished and unrendered, making them look like something out of a Disney film from the 90’s. In another scene, a cameraman is seen running through the scenery. Instead of removing him from the scene, however, he was instead (lazily) turned into a cat character by only placing a tail on him. And, throughout the film, some of the cast have feline feet while others just have plain human feet. The complete lack of attention to detail is painfully obvious.
And lastly, the pacing was a mess; the first half happened too quickly and needed to slow down and take a breath, while the second half slowed to a snail’s pace. I’m also convinced the cameraman was drunk because some of the cinematography was wonky and constantly moving, making me feel dizzy. This was especially highlighted in the opening sequence where the camera spins round a circle of the cast. However, the camera’s moving so quickly that you can’t discern the faces.
Overall, Cats is an open letter to Hollywood and Tom Hooper on two aspects:
1. Just because you can adapt everything to the big screen, doesn’t mean that you should.
2. Don’t rush a film just because you want it out in time for Christmas.
While it was a challenging musical to adapt to screen, Cats was a mess and I regret not drinking a lot before seeing it. If Tom Hooper really wanted to bring this musical to the big screen, he should’ve just re-released the original recording of the Broadway production, because that is miles better than this film will ever be.
A third film has been wanted for a long time and, while the Playstation 3 game was considered a decent ‘third entry’, a third film in the original series has never been thought up…until now.
‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ stars Paul Rudd and Finn Wolfhard, and centres around a single mum and her kids who move into a small town. Once there, the kids discover that they have a connection to the Ghostbusters legacy.
The new film takes place in the original timeline of films and seems to be a lot smaller than the original two films; it’s taking a personal approach and I appreciate this decision. The film is saying ‘it’s time for a new generation to take centre stage’.
It isn’t without its references though: the iconic ghost traps and Ecto 1 vehicle returns, Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd are set to make an appearance and there’s even a glimpse of Slimer the green ghost.
Before seeing the trailer, I wasn’t interested in this at all. However, I like the approach the film is taking. Crude jokes and slapstick that the 2016 film had has been replaced with a ‘Stranger Things’-type tone and feel which works beautifully.
‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ will be in cinemas July 2020.
A solo Black Widow film has been hypothesised ever since ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. Fan theories on what the plot would be, and even fan made posters were created in the hopes that Marvel Studios would listen to the requests. And they finally have…after they released ‘Avengers: Endgame’.
‘Black Widow’ sees Scarlett Johansson return as Natasha Romanoff, aka. Black Widow and takes place between the events of ‘Civil War’ and ‘Infinity War’.
This film looks incredible and it’s great to see Scarlett Johansson finally take the lead on the big screen. I’ve always thought she was a fantastic actress and I’m glad another female Marvel character has a solo film. The action scenes look exciting, and it’s also great to see David Harbour (Stranger Things) be introduced into the Marvel Universe.
Natasha’s background also looks interesting, if a little strained. Hopefully the film will delve more into her backstory of why she sees the Avengers as her true family.
While the film looks fantastic, the timing of the film is wrong and takes away the impact of ‘Avengers: Endgame’. It’s all a lot, but just a little too late.
‘Black Widow’ will be in cinemas 1st May 2020.
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (/dʒoʊˈhænsən/; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. She has been the world’s highest-paid actress since 2018 and has made multiple appearances in the Forbes Celebrity 100. Her films have grossed over $14.3 billion worldwide, making Johansson the third-highest-grossing box office star of all time. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Tony Award and a British Academy Film Award.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot: The BRWC Spoiler Review. SPOILERS AHEAD.
It’s fantastic to see Kevin Smith back in the writer/director chair after his heart attack last year and what a way to return to the film industry than to reintroduce fans to his iconic characters Jay and Silent Bob (played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith).
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is the sequel (and, yes, reboot) of the 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. After learning that a ‘Bluntman and Chronic’ film reboot is being made, stoners Jay and Silent Bob return to Hollywood to stop it from being made.
While it was nice to see the mischievous pair back on the big screen, Reboot was, unfortunately, in need of a script rewrite.
The film is very familiar and does feel like a continuation into the lives of two friends who have not grown up much at all. Because of this, the slapstick humour returns and works beautifully, along with the Looney Tunes-style music, which works most of the time. However, some of the music was a little out of place and too loud in some scenes.
The first act was a little messy, especially the scene revolving around Jason Lee’s character Brodie Bruce (from Smith’s 1995 film ‘Mallrats’). While I understand that Kevin Smith’s films are dialogue films, this scene, where Brodie explained to Jay and Silent Bob what a reboot and remake were was slow and painful to watch. Considering that it occurred 10-15 minutes into the film, it already slowed the pacing down.
The jokes revolving around the dialogue was also written too late, timewise. While I understand that a similar scene took place in Strike Back, where Ben Affleck was explaining what the internet was to the lead characters, the internet as we know it was still a relatively new product whereas remakes and reboots have been ongoing in the film industry for decades. While I understand what Kevin Smith was going for, this should’ve been removed, or dialogue should’ve been cut to make the pacing tighter.
Some other aspects of the films that should’ve been removed was a plot involving a Russian spy and a scene where the characters get kidnapped by the KKK. Even now, I’m still not sure what Smith was going for in these segments as they went nowhere. While the latter scene was probably a commentary on the group, the Russian spy plotline had no reason to be there other than for Silent Bob to get his shining moment in an Iron Man-style suit.
However, the whole third act at Chronic Con in Hollywood was delightful and the strongest part of the whole film. Cameos from Kevin Smith’s filmography and TV work were all here, including the cast of the show Comic Book Men, his film Chasing Amy and even the cast of his debut film Clerks! Speaking of cameos: THERE WERE SO MANY! From Chris Hemsworth (Thor) to Justin Long (Tusk) to Ben Affleck (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) to Matt Damon (Dogma).
Kevin Smith has worked with a lot of great (and now very famous) actors over the years and it’s incredible to see them altogether in one movie, even if the cameos are only a few seconds long. There’s also a lot of references and mentions to his previous films sprinkled throughout this, and it seems like Smith has used Reboot to look back on his career and comment on it, for better or worse (mostly better).
Overall, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot was fine. While it was nice to see the pair back on screen and watch them grow up into more responsible(ish) adults, it was a little messy and there were a few uncomfortable scenes. By the time it got to the third act, it felt more comfortable with its narrative but, by then, it was a little too late. While I can’t say this was a bad film (I did enjoy my time watching this), it wasn’t great.
