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Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain: Review

Roadrunner Synopsis: A documentary about Anthony Bourdain and his career as a chef, writer and host, revered and renowned for his authentic approach to food, culture and travel.

Amongst a busy ensemble of formal TV personas, Anthony Bourdain proudly stood above the crowd. His sharp, fun-loving perspective embraced a multitude of unique cultures with genuine affection. Few celebrities were able to exhibit such whimsy while maintaining a transparent edge, always balancing the joys of the world alongside its inner pit of despair. For Bourdain, it was never just about the food or the breathtaking vistas. The megastar understood the significance of sincerely reflecting a vast worldview, utilizing his program as a vibrant prism for a world that often exists outside our reach.

It’s been three years since the star’s shocking death, but Bourdain’s bold legacy still carries on. In Oscar-winner Morgan Neville’s latest doc Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, the documentarian takes an intimate look at Bourdain’s unique zest for life and travel. Like the personality himself, Neville’s feature radiates with a flurry of potent emotions and thoughtful insights.

Whether you’re a longtime fan or a novice to Bourdain’s acerbic charms, Roadrunner features the star’s infectious allure in full force. Much of the highlights here come from the late chef’s archived footage, which delicately captures his meteoric rise to fame from his humble cooking days. Bourdain’s unwavering passion and thoughtful intellect always make him a dynamic presence to follow, with his playfully incorporated narration guiding audiences along akin to how he would on his TV programs.

Despite his passing, Neville ensures that Bourdain is the life force of the documentary. The director aptly reflects his star’s wandering persona, finding a loose yet cohesive form for his lively story to take place. Neville’s command of the film always feels remarkably assured. Unlike documentaries that flatly convey stories through expert interviews, Neville retains Bourdain’s free-spirited energy through his dynamic composition and clear thesis. Audiences will leave Roadrunner with a genuine sense of his dynamic persona. He was a man with overwhelming passion and love, so much so that the world’s inherent brokenness became overbearing to endure.

Neville’s feature impresses where it matters most, but his film does lose some of its impact in the third act. Neville inserts his desires to make a feature that stands above the salacious headlines that often defined Bourdain’s passing. However, the third act gets a bit too caught up in the tabloid-fodder drama despite Neville’s attempts at diplomatic tactfulness. It only works to distract from the genuine tribute that the first two acts established, although the finale frames did win me back with their open-hearted sincerity.

Every frame of Roadrunner is crafted with infectious adoration for its central subject. Neville’s assured direction allows audiences to experience Bourdain’s lovable eccentricities in an intimate and oftentimes moving light.

Roadrunner is playing in select theaters starting on July 16th.

15th July 2021
The Body Fights Back: Review

All over the world there are many people that suffer from eating disorders and body dysmorphias which inform them about how they think they should look. The media perpetuates certain myths about body image and society gets the idea that to have the ideal body, look attractive and to be successful and happy, then you have to look a certain way.

The Body Fights Back is a documentary that takes many different accounts of men and women and talks about how they feel about their own bodies, how their eating or dysmorphic disorders have changed them and what they think about how the world at large. A world that only emphasises the way that people judge them for their bodies.

The documentary looks at many different walks of life. Such as women who have struggled through weight gain and had to lose it because of medical reasons to women who battle anorexia and even those who have learned to love their own bodies. The Body Fights Back shows that we come in all shapes and sizes.

There are experts from different areas such as physical and mental health that also give their opinions on how eating disorders and body positivity can come about and how it can really change people to love the skin that you’re in. There are disabled women, black women, gay women and the documentary shows that you can’t judge a book by its cover. There’s even some discussion on the way men are pressured to look a certain way which ranges from physical fitness to extreme body building.

The Body Fights Back bills itself as an insight into different people facing similar experiences with battling their bodies, but there seems to be more of a focus on how this affects women rather than men. This may be a reflection on how the media and society judges women more harshly than men on their appearance, but it would have been good to see some men who have battled with weight gain and disorders like anorexia. This would help to show that body image is not just a female issue.

Almost all of the experts are men as well, which gives the impression that they have a better insight into how the female body and mind works. There’s also one person who’s introduced, but after a few scenes, disappears entirely and his views about body image and the media seem to be at odds with what the rest of the documentary is trying to say.

The Body Fight Back may be good for those who are feeling low and want to reassure themselves that they are beautiful and they are absolutely right to do so. However, for those looking for a deep insight into how the world treats people by the way that they look and how to change that, then they may want to find something that goes beneath the surface.

14th July 2021
The Good, The Bart And The Loki – Disney+ Talk

The Good, The Bart And The Loki – Disney+ Talk

While ‘The Simpsons’ may have decreased in quality, I can’t help but continue to watch the specials that are still brought out. ‘Treehouse of Horror’, the shorts and the Star Wars specials are all episodes that I love, even if I’ve grown tired of the main show. And I have previously covered a Star Wars special, ‘The Force Awakens From Its Nap’, which I once again enjoyed. It was filled with references and great visual gags that the show is so well-known for. But, since Disney also own Marvel, it was only a matter of time until the superheroes that we’ve followed for the last decade cross over into Springfield.

‘The Good, The Bart And The Loki’ was uploaded to Disney+ on the 7^th July 2021. The 5-minute short sees Loki (voiced by Tom Hiddleston) banished from Asgard once again and finding himself in Springfield where he teams up with the Boy of Mischief, Bart Simpson.

This short exists to celebrate the ‘Loki’ series and the Marvel Cinematic Universe by showing visual gags revolving around Marvel and even Disney themselves. A particular background gag pokes fun at the fact that Disney bought Marvel and Fox, so they were allowed to do this crossover which I particularly liked. Just because the Mickey Mouse company bought ‘The Simpsons’ doesn’t mean they’ll stop from joking about anything that they can get their hands on, including themselves, and I appreciate that.

Other jokes include Lisa being worthy of holding Thor’s hammer (because of course she is) and getting The Springfield Avengers together. These consist of Barney as Iron Man, Dr Nick as Dr Strange, Marge’s sisters as Wanda and Agatha, Moe as Vision, Ned Flanders as Antman, Ralph as Hulk and Dr Hibbert as Falcon. Loki also gets accepted into the Simpsons family, which he calls ‘functional’ while Bart is banished by Lisa. The fact that he calls the Simpsons functional says a lot about his own family!

And, when the credits roll, the jokes don’t stop. Jokes seen during the credits sequence are Comic Book Guy as Thor and doing The Snap, Homer trying and failing to pick up Thor’s hammer, Maggie watching Wandavision, Barney washing his Iron Man suit, and Ralph the Hulk smashing Loki in a re-enactment of ‘The Avengers’. There’s even an end credits scene where Loki is put on trial for violating Disney+’s rules about interdimensional travel into other shows (and stealing Goofy’s parking space!).

While there’s not much of a plot, ‘The Good, The Bart And The Loki’ is still enjoyable, especially for Marvel fans, and it’s great to finally see a Marvel/Simpsons crossover. Maybe the next crossover can be with Mickey Mouse and Goofy?

13th July 2021
James Bond After Daniel Craig?

James Bond. Who Can Step Up To The Mantle Of James Bond After Daniel Craig?

If there’s one thing that James Bond beats like he beats his enemies, it’s age. His liver doesn’t seem to resent all the martinis and whiskies; his lungs don’t bother about the endless cigars. He still has money for high stakes on blackjack and roulette at the world’s most lavish and exotic casinos.

Born from the imagination of the former intelligence officer Ian Fleming, Bond keeps getting new faces. Indeed, he didn’t retire after his creator’s passing. Agent 007 premiered on the big screen with his sixth novel, Dr No, in 1963. The first book, Casino Royale (1952), only became a movie in 2006, with Daniel Craig, who’s been playing Mr Bond ever since. However, the times are coming for a new face in MI6. Who’d that be?

Fleming’s Legacy

Pixabay

Ian Fleming (1908 – 1964) wrote two compilations of short stories, plus twelve James Bond novels. He worked in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II. A journalist by profession, Mr Fleming’s writings were greatly influenced by this period. He wrote all the books between 1952 and 1964 when he died. Two other posthumous works were published in 1964.

Other writers picked up the agent from where Fleming had left him and carried on. Ten authors have contributed to Mr Bond’s adventures ever since. John Gardner was the most prolific, with 14 novels and two novelizations. It means that Agent 007 will never run out of stories on the big screen.

Times of Change

Daniel Craig is playing the secret agent for the last time in No Time to Die, coming out next October. While there’s no official information regarding Craig’s replacement, it’s all open for speculation. Some bookies have even opened the subject for bets. Since Barbara Broccoli stated that the next 007 wouldn’t be female, here are a few possible names for the job.

Pixabay

Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy is one of the greatest talents of his generation. Moreover, he would suit quite well the cold attitude of Agent 007. In 2020, a blog “announced” that Tom Hardy was “officially” the new James Bond. In the end, it was all a hoax, but the actor did little to dispel the rumours. He said he wouldn’t comment about it because of an “old superstition” among actors, which tells the one who comments on Bond rumours are out of the game.

Idris Elba

Idris Elba made fame and fans by starring in the BBC series Luther. His name keeps coming up in front-runner lists for the role. Barbara Broccoli once said that it was time for a “non-white” actor to play the part. Like the fictional character, he’s tall, athletic, and charming. Elba has proven his talent many times over and is the favourite choice for many critics and fans.

Michael Fassbender

The actor stays in the bookies, even after insisting he would never play James Bond. Daniel Craig said the same thing, and here we are. He’s also a great actor, with experience in action movies, and it’s still in the game, it seems.

Conclusion

Honestly, we couldn’t possibly mention all the suitable candidates for the gig. Yet, we can expect to be surprised. After all these years, James Bond never lost.

13th July 2021
Fear Street Part 2: 1978 – Review

Previously on Fear Street Part 1: 1994, Deena (Kiana Madeira) and her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) became the only survivors of the terrible events which led them to being trapped in a shopping mall and forced to fight off the supernatural forces hellbent on killing them. Now, after having to save Deena’s girlfriend, Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) from the possession of the witch, they go to see an isolated woman (Gillian Jacobs) who has isolated herself after the traumatic events that killed her sister in 1978. Believing that the witch which possessed Sam is connected, Deena and Josh go to hear what she has to say.

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 is the sequel (prequel?) to Netflix’s horror trilogy based on the books by R. L. Stine. This time after evoking the Nineties slasher subgenre, Fear Street goes back to the origins of the slasher movie, hoping to remind its audience of such things as Friday the 13^th and Halloween.

Ziggy Berman (Sadie Sink) has always been considered the weird kid and the rest of Camp Nightwing treat her differently, to the point that when we meet Ziggy, she’s running for her life only to be strung up and tortured by the other campers. However, there’s plenty of other campers ripe for the killing, so when Ziggy and the ones in the camp that she considers friends uncover a satanic ritual site, it once again unleashes the powers of the witch which possesses another innocent victim and lets them loose on the campers.

As with what happened in Part 1, Part 2 tries to evoke a certain era of cinema and the beginnings of the slasher movie seem to be a good place to go. It’s unfortunate then that perhaps due to the budget, Part 2 never really feels like 1978 apart from a few costumes and a soundtrack which sporadically drops in a classic Seventies track. Although often the songs are put in because they sound cool rather than making sense to the scene.

This time joined by Zak Olkewicz on screenwriting duties, director Leigh Janiak is consistent with her work, but Part 2 comes across as less of a homage to well loved classics and more of a hazy recollection of a subgenre of horror.

The cast all play their parts well and with Sadie Sink in the lead it will no doubt keep Stranger Things firmly in the minds of the viewers. There are also some twists at the end; some that audiences may like and others which they may see coming from a mile away, but as with the first part, the promise of what’s to come may entice them to finish the trilogy.

Let’s just hope that Fear Street Part 3: 1666 is less like The Village and more like The Witchfinder General.

13th July 2021