The Rise Of Sir Longbottom: Review – Trevor Doyle (Daniel Main) and Kyle Johnson (Jeremy Behie), better known as Pocketman and Cargoboy are back after their first adventure where they travelled through time to stop an evil doctor from killing the human race.
Now back at school, their skills are to be tested even further and their knowledge of what’s to come may be the only way to defeat the evil Sir Longbottom (John J. Berger). However, with the strong bonds between the students and the teachers, it may not be so easy for Sir Longbottom to take them down.
The Rise of Sir Longbottom is the no-budget sequel to Pocketman and Cargoboy, the brainchild of writer/director Clay Moffatt. Presumably using as many resources as possible at his disposal (not many) Moffatt has inventively created a world where with a much bigger budget it could easily be a franchise.
The problem is that it’s really no substitution for a big screen blockbuster because the budget is so low that it may not hold the attention of the youngest minds. Also, the movie doesn’t really give the chance for any newcomers to catch up. It assumes that the audience has already seen the first movie and carries on as if they’re all caught up.
A line of dialogue here or there about who they are, why they’re there and what they’re doing may have helped, but it’s clearly not a priority. This is also particularly unfortunate as supposedly the first movie had already established so many characters and relationships.
So, unless you’re very familiar with the first movie, there doesn’t seem to be anything new to add to the characters and the audience are yet again expected to remember characters, what their relationships are with each other and why the audience should care.
Considering the low budget, there can be some things that could be overlooked, but for those who were expecting more then they may also be disappointed by the quality of acting. Overall it does have its charm and it may remind budding filmmakers of attempts they made while they were teenagers. However, for those looking for a fun film with good characters then they may want to skip this one.
Robin Williams, American Master: Book Review. Esme Betamax @betamaxer
Author Stephen Spignesi is “[…] considered a world authority on Stephen King, The Beatles, Robin Williams, the Titanic, and other historical and pop culture subjects.” So probably the right kinda chap to bring along to a pub quiz. This quote tells you everything you need to know about where the author stands: “Admittedly some of the jokes wouldn’t fly today in our politically correct and hypersensitive cultural climate”.
In a bid to squeeze a little more out of Williams’s legacy (Robin, we’re on first name terms here) the author sticks to his film career for this volume, unlike his previous book on the subject. The Robin Williams Scrapbook, published in 1997, took a more general approach, covering film, television, and stand-up. He also takes the opportunity to clear up any uncertainty surrounding Williams’ death in 2014.
Robin Williams, American Master contains a full filmography from Can I Do It…’Til I Need Glasses? to the posthumous release Absolutely Anything, via many uncredited roles. However, Spignesi would rather ignore a whole swathe of these films. He starts out pretty enthusiastically with 1980’s Popeye, but chucks it (with Can I do it…) under the bus, claiming Garp to be his true film debut. “Perhaps we should consider The World According to Garp as Robin Williams’s real film debut, Popeye notwithstanding.” His desire to appear impartial seems an odd stance to take.
It comes as some surprise that a self confessed fan would present Robin Williams as he does. He views most of his film career as a square-peg-round-hole situation, in which Williams must repeatedly ad-lib his way out of bad scripts. He says “Robin Williams’s name on a film implies a certain something—sure it’s essentially an indefinable something” but it’s clear that for Spignesi that “something” boils down to the amount of stand-up material he can fit in, no matter the plot.
Spignesi throws trivia at the reader with the pace and indiscrimination of an Aldi cashier. Some of these trivia points are informative, for example a full list of the 90(!) character transformations by the genie in the 3rd installment of the Aladdin franchise. More often they are dubious. For instance: “Patch [Adams] shouts out “Let’s do it!” which may be a nod to Robin’s deceased friend John Belushi who shouts the same thing in Animal House.” Surely this Belushi connection is too tenuous.
He refers to the same critics — Roger Ebert, “Robin Williams and animation were born for one another”; Leonard Maltin “Williams is terrific as usual”; James Berardinelli “Robin Williams hits all the wrong notes” — as a gesture towards continuity. However, the effect is more repetitive than anything, and the amount of negative feedback is unexpected.
Robin Williams, American Master is for superfans and trivia nerds. It’s the box-set released by your favourite band that you have to buy if only for that one B-side you can’t get anywhere else.
Robin Williams, American Master is due for release on January 21, 2021 from Post Hill Press
Even as theaters crumble around us, Liam Neeson’s relentless onslaught of run-of-the-mill actioners continues to push onward. Neeson’s steely delivery has served as a promising life preserver for slowly-operating theaters during a period of financial deficits (Honest Thief earned a decent gross in its theatrical run). The star’s latest The Marksman flashes sparks of an old-fashioned action vehicle. Despite the potential, it more or less marks another middling entry in his long-running resume.
The Marksman follows Jim (Liam Neeson), a widowed rancher barely getting by on the outskirts of the Arizona border. He becomes the unlikely defender of Miguel (Jacob Perez), an immigrant boy desperately fleeing cartel assassins pursuing their form of justice.
As a stout supporter of disposable actioners, Neeson continues to provide a valuable service for the genre. He consistently imbues straight-laced everyman roles with more gravitas than they deserve, capably carrying material that often isn’t up to his talents. As Jim, Neeson discovers a few poignant frames within the character’s inner turmoil. His gravely charms provide a sturdy enough center for the cliched plot threads to take place around. Young co-star Jacob Perez also holds his own within a relatively underwritten role.
While The Marksman ranks among Neeson’s most subdued actioners (there’s sadly no shoot-out on a nosediving plane), director Robert Lorenz creates a visually arresting film along the way. After serving as Clint Eastwood’s long-time assistant director, Lorenz comfortably basks in the atmospheric glow of tried and true westerns. His usage of wide-shots and patient framing becomes an ideal complement for the material’s down-to-earth presentation. I also enjoyed the no-frills grit present within the action frames, with Lorenz smoothly highlighting the simplistic showdowns.
Most of the narrative presses forward without a dull moment, but the mere competence can’t overcome the generally contrived presentation. A script collaborated by three writers (including Lorenz) reduces into one blandly boilerplate effort, drawing from superior actioners without much care or understanding of their contemporaries. The narrative crux of Jim and Miguel’s developing relationship has dramatic potential, but their dynamic lacks the intimacy to properly connect with audiences.
I don’t think the tandem establishes much of a relationship despite the actor’s assured abilities. The two are mostly relegated to generic exchanges lacking in a naturalistic flow. It doesn’t help that The Marksman surrounds itself with poorly-conceived cliches, including villains who are never grounded with thoughtful development (a third act speech does little to forgive their empty blood lust).
There’s some potency buried beneath the mountain of cliches, yet the material never takes itself seriously enough. Lorenz and company seem complacent going through the thoughtless B-movie motions, leaving a few intriguing subplots in the dust along the way (an arc involving Jim’s alcoholism and a vaguely-developed critique of American bureaucracy go nowhere). Lorenz delivers narrative devices with little care of the emotionality behind them, pushing the flat material to the finish line in an empty workman-like manner.
Without well-established characters or a significant action punch, The Marksman is destined to become TV fodder for disinterested dad’s approaching their nap time. Between this and Honest Thief, I hope Neeson strives for more inspired material going forward.
Women Filmmakers Lead London Critics’ Circle Noms – The UK’s leading film critics announced the nominations for the 41st annual London Critics’ Circle Film Awards. Rose Glass’ dramatic horror Saint Maud was out front with 8 nominations, including Film, Director, Screenwriter, Actress (Morfydd Clark) and Supporting Actress (Jennifer Ehle). In addition, the film is nominated for British/Irish Film of the Year, and Clark is nominated for British/Irish Actress, a body-of-work award that includes her appearance in Eternal Beauty.
Other leading contenders include Sarah Gavron’s London coming-of-age story Rocks with 6 nominations, Chloé Zhao’s improvised American road movie Nomadland with 5, and Emerald Fennell’s provocative blackly comical thriller Promising Young Woman with 4. Also earning 4 nominations were David Fincher’s Hollywood biopic Mank and Steve McQueen’s house-party drama Lovers Rock. McQueen is up for Director of the Year for his five Small Axe films.
Rounding out the 10 nominees for Film of the Year are Roy Andersson’s reflective comedy About Endlessness, Alexander Nanau’s journalism documentary Collective, Charlie Kaufman’s existential black comedy I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Kevin Macdonald’s arresting Guantanamo drama The Mauritanian and Lee Isaac Chung’s Korean-American immigrant saga Minari.
The late Chadwick Boseman received nominations both for his lead role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and his supporting role in Da 5 Bloods. Other multiple acting nominees include Morfydd Clark, Anthony Hopkins, Carey Mulligan, Riz Ahmed, Vanessa Kirby, Sacha Baron Cohen and Rocks’ newcomer Bukky Bakray.
The nominations were announced online today by actors Darci Shaw, who played the young Judy Garland alongside Renée Zellweger in Judy, and Henry Lloyd-Hughes, who appeared opposite Keira Knightley in Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina. The two are starring together in Netflix’s upcoming supernatural Sherlock Holmes series The Irregulars, in which Lloyd-Hughes plays the iconic detective.
Due to the pandemic, more films released directly to streaming services were made eligible, and the qualifying release dates were extended into March, as long as films had been screened in 2020 to critics or at festivals. “This additional eligibility has put an extra strain on our members this year, watching more films than usual,” says Rich Cline, chair of the Critics’ Circle Film Section. “And indeed we named 224 features across our ballots, out of which 49 were nominated. As always, there are some surprises that make our shortlists stand out, even in this year’s rather unusual awards season. And it’s great to see such a range of talent recognised, spread across genders, ethnicities and production budgets.”
The 41st London Critics’ Circle Film Awards will be presented virtually on Sunday, 7th February. A physical event will be held later in the year, working with our long-standing sponsor The May Fair Hotel, to celebrate the winners and present this year’s Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Cinema.
Women Filmmakers Lead London Critics’ Circle Noms
Full list of nominations:
FILM OF THE YEAR About Endlessness Collective I’m Thinking of Ending Things Lovers Rock The Mauritanian Minari Nomadland Promising Young Woman Rocks Saint Maud
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR About Endlessness Another Round Collective Les Misérables Minari
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets Collective Dick Johnson Is Dead Time The Truffle Hunters
The Attenborough Award BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR The Father Lovers Rock Mangrove Rocks Saint Maud
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR David Fincher – Mank Rose Glass – Saint Maud Kevin Macdonald – The Mauritanian Steve McQueen – Small Axe Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR Jack Fincher – Mank Rose Glass – Saint Maud Charlie Kaufman – I’m Thinking of Ending Things Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7 Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR Morfydd Clark – Saint Maud Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman Frances McDormand – Nomadland Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman
ACTOR OF THE YEAR Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Anthony Hopkins – The Father Delroy Lindo – Da 5 Bloods Tahar Rahim – The Mauritanian
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Ellen Burstyn – Pieces of a Woman Essie Davis – Babyteeth Jennifer Ehle – Saint Maud Amanda Seyfried – Mank
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7 Chadwick Boseman – Da 5 Bloods Aldis Hodge – Clemency Ben Mendelsohn – Babyteeth Shaun Parkes – Mangrove
BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR (for body of work) Bukky Bakray – Rocks Jessie Buckley – I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Misbehaviour Morfydd Clark – Eternal Beauty, Saint Maud Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman, The World to Come Carey Mulligan – The Dig, Promising Young Woman
BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR (for body of work) Riz Ahmed – Mogul Mowgli, Sound of Metal Sacha Baron Cohen – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, The Trial of the Chicago 7 John Boyega – Red, White and Blue Anthony Hopkins – The Father Cosmo Jarvis – Calm With Horses, Nocturnal
The Philip French Award BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER Henry Blake – County Lines Fyzal Boulifa – Lynn + Lucy Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman Rose Glass – Saint Maud Remi Weekes – His House
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER Kosar Ali – Rocks Bukky Bakray – Rocks Millie Bobby Brown – Enola Holmes Conrad Khan – County Lines Molly Windsor – Make Up
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM Filipiñana – Rafael Manuel, director Hungry Joe – Paul Holbrook, director Lizard – Akinola Davies Jr, director The Long Goodbye – Aneil Karia, director The Shift – Laura Carreira, director
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT Ammonite – Stéphane Fontaine, cinematography Birds of Prey – Deborah Lamia Denaver & Adruitha Lee, makeup & hair Lovers Rock – Mica Levi, music Mank – Donald Graham Burt, production design Nomadland – Joshua James Richards, cinematography Rocks – Lucy Pardee, casting Soul – Pete Docter, animation Sound of Metal – Phillip Bladh, sound design Tenet – Jennifer Lame, film editing WolfWalkers – Tomm Moore & Ross Stewart, animation
Winners will be announced virtually on Sunday, 7th February. – Female Filmmakers Lead London Critics’ Circle Noms
*This is a review of the first three episodes of WandaVision sent to press outlets. I will update this review in further weeks to offer my complete analysis*
The MCU’s juggernaut run has reached unprecedented critical and financial heights for blockbuster filmmaking. Their nearly-undefeated track record (sorry Thor: The Dark World) now looks to venture to the small screen with a batch of Disney+ TV shows. Ever since the announcement, I have wondered what this intriguing transition would look like. The shift presents Marvel with fresh opportunities to innovate from their typical formula, but would they be willing to risk their winning resume?
While it’s not completely unfamiliar from the Marvel routine, their debut show WandaVision does mark a refreshing change-of-pace for the storied brand. In allowing two seldomly-highlighted characters to breathe in a unique setting, director Matt Shakman’s program reaches its own affable frequency amongst its big-screen peers.
After being forced on-the-run following Civil War, WandaVision follows Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) as they begin to live in sitcom-esque suburbia. As the two grow in their new environment, they begin to suspect their world is far more fragile than it seems.
Without any marquee action beats or colorful costumed moments, WandaVision‘s initial episodes may befuddle some diehard fans. Personally, I was delightfully surprised by the levels in which Shakman and company embraced the sitcom pastiche. The trio of episodes delves into the subculture of sitcom’s evolving history, cleverly embracing each period’s distinct sensibilities with a detailed eye. The running gag never becomes too clever for its own good, with the visceral references serving as well-spiced seasoning for the narrative at hand. The creators’ self-assured patience allows the narrative to set-up without overwhelming the show’s best dynamics.
Under all the aesthetics, WandaVision elicits the most enjoyment from its titular pair. After seeing Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany relegated to thin, self-serious roles on the big screen, both actors charismatically let their hair down with their super-powered roles. As a couple discovering themselves among marital normalcy, the two share lived-in chemistry through their naturalistic delivery. It’s a blast to see these two playfully stumble past the nuclear normatives of the family structure, with the material discovering intimate humanity from the character’s continual growth.
WandaVision’s cliffhanger tease boasts potential for future episodes, but I do have some concerns about the show’s ability to sustains its unique energy. Jac Schaeffer’s promising narrative presents a weightlessness concurrent with the MCU’s generally safe presentation. There is an inability to engage with meaningful dramatic frames, whether it be Wanda recovering from the loss of her twin brother or Vision having doubts about his role as a father. I hope future episodes embrace TV’s unique structure, potentially allowing characters to grow more than they would in busy super-powered team-ups.
WandaVision welcomes an intriguing new form, but it still presents the same crowd-pleasing allures of the Marvel brand. It will be fascinating to see how the show evolves in the coming weeks.
UPDATE AFTER THE SEASON FINALE
Little did I know, the first three episodes of WandaVision would rank as the show’s most consistent stretch. The show quickly ditches its singular sitcom vision to balance its real-world story involving SWORD agents. While it’s nice to see the talents of Randall Park and Kat Dennings return to the screen, the two are relegated to corny roles that lack any dynamism outside of flat one-liners. I like when Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau has a chance to breathe on screen, but her character never gets any agency outside of Wanda’s personal strife.
Marvel certainly means well in its attempts to ruminate with Wanda’s grief and the way it manifests the world around her. I just don’t think their material reaches any meaningful nuances within its character development. Overworked dialogue strains for unearned sentimentality, while an overwhelming use of expository dialogue sledgehammers every wrinkle with awkward obviousness. The show is at its best when Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany are sharing the screen, yet the second half seems to split their engaging dynamic whenever it gets the chance.
WandaVision doesn’t live up to its initial promise. That still doesn’t stop this Marvel show from eliciting some exciting entertainment. Through the roller-coaster second half of the season, the show still kept me at the edge of my seat as each new development unfolded. The growth of Kathryn Hahn as a wicked antagonist brings the show a much-need threat, while a few playful narrative detours keep the audiences on their toes. I eagerly tuned in every Friday and still awaited follow-up episodes after each tense cliffhanger.
I am excited to see where Marvel can go with this new serialized format. The platform allows fresh opportunities for patient storytelling against the brand’s usually boisterous big-screen brothers. That being said, I hope Marvel allows its writers to stretch outside of the studio’s typical comfort zone, as WandaVision would have benefited from a bit more distance from familiar superhero devices.
