Blog

DaCosta, Mulan, Disney: Weekly Round Up

DaCosta, Mulan, Disney: Weekly Round Up – One of the most frustrating things for movie fans now is the constant uncertainty surrounding the release of much anticipated movies. Throughout the course of the coronavirus pandemic we have heard various bits of news surrounding release dates being pushed back, moved, and rescheduled. It has left many of us wondering when the inevitable shift to online releases would begin to take hold, since studios need to earn their money somehow.

Well, the answer seems to be here, and it is brought with it some controversy too. This week Disney have announced that they plan to release their big-budget, live action remake of the 90s classic Mulan via their streaming service, Disney+. The film will still be receiving a limited theatrical release as well, so this news in and of itself is not necessarily the source of the controversy.

Instead, what seems to have gotten people riled up is the news that Mulan will arrive on Disney+ with a $30 price tag. Arguments have raged on both sides of this, with some claiming it extortion while others pointing to the fact that the cost is arguably less than a family trip to the cinema anyway (these people, presumably, don’t have kids, or have never tried to make their kids sit down and watch a movie at home).

Mulan wasn’t the only movie to make the jump to an on-demand release this week, with Janelle Monae’s Antebellum also making the move, with a release set for September.

Disney are obviously banking on people willing to spend that money given the success of their other live-action remakes of animated classic. The same success is no doubt behind their decision to continue with the on/off production of Pinocchio, the original of which was Disney’s second movie behind Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

The live-action Pinocchio will reportedly star Tom Hanks as Geppetto and will see him reunite with his Forrest Gump and Cast Away director, Robert Zemeckis. Zemeckis himself is suffering the side-effects of the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic with his next film, a remake of Roald Dahl’s classic tale The Witches starring Anne Hathaway, awaiting a release date. A poster for the film dropped online this week, leading some to speculate that an online release could be coming for it too.

Whichever side of the fence you fall, it does seem that the tide may be shifting, with there now being rumors that Disney will provide a similar release strategy for the upcoming Marvel movie Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson as the titular Avenger.

And while we’re on the subject of Marvel studios, this week we got news that Nia DaCosta, the director of the hotly anticipated Candyman reboot, has signed on to direct the sequel Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson.

It’s worth noting that there are a fair few Marvel movies scheduled between now and the release of Captain Marvel 2, including The Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Black Panther II, Thor: Love & Thunder, Tom Holland’s third outing as Spider-Man, and the aforementioned Black Widow. Of course, what with the current global situation, all bets are off, and things are subject to change.

DaCosta’s signing on as director of the project is noteworthy, however, as it will make DaCosta the first African American woman to direct either a Marvel or DC movie. At the moment DaCosta and Candyman is scheduled for a traditional cinematic release in October, although it is possible this may change.

The most interesting story this week, though (for me at least), comes in relation to the John Wick franchise, which has fast established itself as the most inventive and exciting action franchise currently out there.

John Wick 4, the follow-up to the excellently received John Wick 3: Parabellum, was original scheduled for a release in May of 2021. Of course, as we have heard so often now, due to the current situation the film was pushed back an entire year, to May of 2022. As a result, however, Lionsgate, the studio behind the franchise, have decided that they will shoot both John Wick 4 and the newly announced John Wick 5 back-to-back.

Interestingly, the folks behind John Wick, director Chad Stahelski and screenwriter Derek Kolstad, have also signed up this week to adapt an English language remake of the 2010 South Korean action thriller The Man From Nowhere, a film that itself bears a striking resemblance to the original John Wick movie.

Finally, this week, we got some rather tantalizing news regarding a potential Knight Rider reboot for the big screen. For those of you who don’t know, Knight Rider was a hugely popular TV show in the mid to late 80s that starred David Hassehoff as Michael Knight, an ex-cop who drove an A.I. powered super car called K.I.T.T., and together the pair would travel the US solving crimes (yes, it was as cheesy as it sounds).

The potential reboot may very well be coming under the watchful eye of James Wan. Wan, perhaps best known for his work on the Saw, Conjuring, and Insidious franchises, is no stranger to crazy car shenanigans, having helmed the 2014 action movie Furious 7, so watch this space. – DaCosta, Mulan, Disney: Weekly Round Up

10th August 2020
For Your Consideration: Review

By Rowan Malyon.

A much-needed film for our time, For Your Consideration builds a wonderfully pithy satirical narrative about the problems with the 21st century film industry.

Poppy Gordon’s debut short follows a series of young, privileged women meeting up to discuss the development of a film that will surely get them into the Sundance Film Festival. In just thirteen short minutes, they jump between ill-conceived ideas, claiming they are trying to give a voice to the voiceless when really, they are just vying to out-woke each other and find a narrative that focuses on the most on-trend minority.

Clearly inspired by frustration, For Your Consideration is as comical as it is blunt. These women have no idea what they’re talking about. Perhaps what is most frightening about this film is that despite its humor, it is a very accurate portrayal of people’s attitudes today, and how those with privilege get to define popular culture.

You know exactly which direction this film is headed from the moment we meet Heather (Samantha Robinson), the ringleader. These rich LA women, who have everything but are still bored, decide to make a film just because they can, just because they have nothing better to do. So, they have bad intentions, but perhaps they will use their privilege for good? Unfortunately not, they sway between being genuinely socially aware and incredibly ignorant, and as their ideas develop, they only grow more offensive. Every time you think they’re going to hit the mark, they glance off at the last second and miss by a mile.

The film manages to criticize these unfortunately ubiquitous voices who are filmmaking for all the wrong reasons without attacking the movements that inspired them. What Gordon does so well is that the villains in this film are not the ill-reputed rich, white men we are used to. It goes deeper than gender and age. It’s about privilege. These are young women exploiting important movements for their own gain, profiting from cultural appropriation and tokenism. For Your Consideration is even bold enough to reference films that have done just that, such as Green Book, the 2019 Oscar winner highly criticized for being just another white savior movie disguised as progress.

I am 23 years old and deeply entrenched in most social media platforms, so this film resonated with me. The commercialization and co-opting of social justice movements is unfortunately commonplace, and you have to wade through a torrent of influencers riding on the coattails of any social change to find the real activists, who, unfortunately, usually get swallowed up in the cacophony.

Gordon’s film is pleasingly to-the-point and holds no punches. Even the title grabs you by the collar. It doesn’t just refer to the golden words of award season, For Your Consideration asks you to think, to reflect, and start your own conversations about these topics. An interesting piece that entertains as much as it educates, For Your Consideration is a film we sorely need.

10th August 2020
What We Found: Review

A group of friends start their freshmen year at a tough public high school when their friend Cassie disappears in West Baltimore. With the police unable, or unwilling, to find her, the young friends take it upon themselves to find out what happened to her, undertaking a harrowing journey that will change them all.

The concept of Ben Hickernell’s What We Found certainly isn’t the most original thing in the world. Throughout the years, we have seen several stories like this one told, many of them being quite good. I was hoping that this film was going to be a welcomed addition to that pile, but unfortunately, it falls rather short even if it isn’t the worst movie out there right now.

At times, the film can play out like a somewhat grittier episode of the first season of Stranger Things with these kids looking for their missing friend. In Stranger Things, the world felt extremely dirty and grimy and you really got the sense that young Will Byers was in big trouble wherever he was. Here though, the world doesn’t give off that same atmosphere. Surprisingly enough, there were a few instances in which the tension doesn’t feel present which was massively disappointing.

Don’t get me wrong though – the film definitely has its moments of tension and intrigue, and when those moments happen, they’re genuinely great. The first act is quite slow to get through. It’s essentially the set-up act where we get to learn a little bit more about our lead characters before going on a journey with them. Once this first act gets out of the way and we move into the second, What We Found becomes exceptionally more entertaining, even if the storytelling can get a little messy along the way.

That’s probably the biggest issue that this movie has; it’s just all over the place. When we get small answers along the way, it is certainly rewarding and satisfying, but the way this story was told as a whole was somewhat jumbled and it could have been done a lot better.

The best part about the picture as a whole was the performances from the entire cast. They were all genuinely terrific in their respective roles and each one of them brought a different level of emotion to their characters. Elizabeth Mitchell thankfully gets quite a bit to do with the role of Captain Hilman, who always feels intimidating and powerful. She will do whatever it takes to get the job done and get it done right.

Also fantastic in the film are the child actors. Sometimes in movies, child actors stick out like sore thumbs because they simply don’t have as much experience as adults do. They can oftentimes feel unfortunately wooden, but here, that is not the case. Oona Laurence is one of the biggest emerging names in the industry right now, and with her performance here, it’s not hard to see why. She delivers an emotionally strong and captivating performance, and one that stands tall amongst the other cast members.

At the end of the day though, What We Found has one too many problems for me to say it was an enjoyable experience in the grand scheme of things. Don’t get me wrong, there are absolutely things to appreciate about it. All of the performances are remarkably strong, there are some moments of genuine intrigue and mystery and it occasionally feels rewarding, but the storytelling was far too messy to get on board with and it sadly comes across stale and unoriginal with the concept. They could have shaken things up and created a brand new twist on the familiar storyline, but instead they went down the traditional route which sometimes isn’t a bad thing, but here, it was.

What We Found tells a messy and familiar story that gets bogged down with its first act, even if its performances are great and has some moments of genuine intrigue.

9th August 2020
Casting: Review

It’s five days before shooting a made-for-TV remake of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant and script reader, Gerwin (Andreas Lust) is helping audition the lead. Vera, the director (Judith Engel) is under immense pressure as this is her first television film project but can’t agree on a female star for the role. Everybody else on set is trying desperately to be professional and hold everything together. But the clock is ticking.

It all starts with a difficult, yet entirely capable actress arriving for her audition. She is fastidious and prickly in how she talks to the makeup artist. Her brief interactions and subsequent dismissal from the film set the tone for what follows. In the hands of a different filmmaker, Casting could have been a cringe-comedy in the style of Lars von Trier’s The Boss of It All. Instead, the audience is pulled through awkward interactions compounded by the nervousness and pressure of getting this adaptation just so.

Writer/ Director Nicolas Wackerbarth does something rather extraordinary with Casting. Its metatextual approach to Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s play-turned-film is an exercise in discomfort and will have you writhing in your chair. Framing the scenario as pre-production for a TV Movie remake slathers on additional layers of tension and barbed dialogue as the power-play between character dynamics shifts between the filmmakers and crew.

The claustrophobia, manipulation, loneliness and abuse of power ever-present in RWF’s 1972 film remain but they are recontextualised and framed with a cast of both female and male performers, while the original utilised an all-female ensemble. This is noted upon in the film, discussing how it would be handled in the television movie they will eventually shoot. It’s a moment that hangs a lantern on what we the audience is observing and is just one example of the many ways in which the filmmakers play with their cinematic re-articulation.

With the key shift in including male and female actors, the LGBTQ focus is also re-aligned, with Lust’s Gerwin having to lie about aspects of his own sexuality to potentially land a role. Wackerbath (and co-writer Hannes Held) plays with the female gaze, using sexual attraction as yet another tool of control, subverted and weaponised against the audition reader. Gerwin manages to seed himself deep within the pre-production process, ingratiating himself with various departments in order to seize his opportunity. The cycle of flattery and misdirection playing out between he and Vera, the director is incredibly well balanced. Both actors imbue their characters with believable dimensionality that you want them both to succeed, regardless of their flaws.

While there is nervous humour to be mined from the near-unbearable tension, there are scenes when the tone shifts to a passive-aggressive workplace horror. Casting isn’t as playful as some of RWF’s works but makes for an excellent companion to The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant. However, the deftly handled dialogue and relatable performances mean that you don’t have to be versed in the original to appreciate what Nicolas Wackerbath has created.

It’s no small feat to have made a film that holds its own as both a pseudo-remake and an original piece in its own right. Squirming my way through Casting has me intrigued by Wackerbath’s previous film, Everyday Objects and getting back onto previously unseen films from Fassbinder’s filmography. Casting is available now on digital and it’s a huge recommend from me.

9th August 2020
Body Transformations In Film

Body Transformations in Film: Amazing and Inspiring or Dangerous? By Frankie Wallace.

Whether it’s Tom Hanks for Castaway, Zac Efron for Baywatch, or Anne Hathway for Les Miserables, the actors and actresses in Hollywood seem all-willing to go all-out to gain or lose weight and muscle for a role. After all, they want to fit the role perfectly, and their bodies are not exactly right.

As we look at these transformations, however, we have to ask ourselves: are these transformations amazing and inspiring to the audience, or can they be downright dangerous? We will examine a few of Hollywood’s amazing body transformations in a little more detail and the story behind the scenes, and then ask ourselves again: Is this a good thing?

Actors and Their Stunning Transformations

Although in our increasingly high tech world, it is possible to digitally transform an actor’s body, as was done to Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, more and more actors are willing to go all-out to fit into their roles, losing or gaining tremendous amounts of weight and making other bodily changes in the process. Let’s look at three cases in more detail.

Matt Damon

In Courage Under Fire, Matt Damon played the role of Specialist Ilairo, a soldier who is emotionally distraught from his experiences on the battlefield who is now facing another battle: heroin addiction. To show the dramatic effects that heroin can have on the body, Damon lost 40 pounds. Even though he thought that his transformation demonstrated how committed he was to acting, and it led him to being offered his breakout role as the lead in the late 1990s film, The Rainmaker, the weight loss harmed his body. It put extreme stress on his adrenal gland, and he had to take medicine for over a year to treat the condition.

Natalie Portman

For her role as Nina, a ballerina in Black Swan who becomes completely obsessed with dance, Natalie Portman, who was already slender, shed 20 pounds. To lose that amount of weight, Portman primarily ate almonds and carrots and very little else. Additionally, she rehearsed for the role eight hours a day. Portman stated, “There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die,” and that, for the first time in her life, she understood how a performer could get so caught up in a role that it could harm them.

Christian Bale

To play the role of the severe insomniac machinist Trevor Reznik in the 2004 psychological thriller, The Machinist, actor Christian Bale lost over 60 pounds. In the film, he is downright skeletal in appearance. Then, in 2005, Bale played Batman in the Christopher Nolan remake of the franchise. For the role of Batman, he gained both weight and muscle. Over six months, Bale gained 100 pounds. When asked about his bodily transformations by E! News, he said that he just can’t transform himself anymore. “I feel like if I keep doing what I’ve done in the past I’m going to die. So, I’d prefer not to die,” Bale said. He also told The Sunday Times Culture magazine, “I can’t keep doing it. I really can’t. My mortality is staring at me in the face.”

The Good Side of Transformation

So, how can these actors and many others totally transform their bodies for a role? For some people, it all comes down to the 3 Big Rocks of Health. These rocks are consistency, effort, and adaptability. Entertainers who can make such transformations for a role show a great amount of all three, and by doing so, inspire others to do the same.

Some of the diets that stars use to make their transformations are even published online for others to follow. For example, Pop Workouts has published the Black Swan Workout, with the claim that anyone who follows the workout can transform their bodies to be long and lean, just like Natalie Portman in Black Swan. While that may sound inspiring, and indeed it is, the workout itself is not for the faint of heart. It involves working out “5 hours a day, 6 days a week” and involves everything from cardio to ab work to swimming.

The Bad Side

Where there is good, there is also bad, and in the case of these transformations, the bad seems to outweigh the good. Andrea N. Giancoli, a certified dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, says that celebrities, with their constant increases and decreases in weight, are superb examples of exactly what not to do when dieting. In particular, she says that the human body doesn’t like to lose weight quickly. When dieting in such a fashion, a person loses muscle, but when they gain it back, it returns as fat.

Also, when entertainers lose a lot of weight, they are prone to want to tell the world about it, and for the wrong reasons. They are not telling people because they want to help, but because they are hoping to increase their chances for recognition. Whenever an entertainer talks about their weight loss, it becomes a trending subject on social media. What they do not realize is that eating disorders, while in some cases are influenced by biology and genetics, also have a strong social component that celebrities tend to increase. The stereotype of the perfect body as lean and strong is still very much a part of our society, and entertainers, with their stories, only propagate that image.

Actors and actresses will undoubtedly continue their extreme body transformations as they practice their art and attempt to be the best characters that they can be, and the debate will continue as to whether these transformations are amazing or dangerous. Leave it to say that, while we may continue to look at the extreme transformations of entertainers on film in awe, we should probably not try it ourselves.

8th August 2020