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  • Gosling, Labyrinth, Apple: Weekly Round Up

    Gosling, Labyrinth, Apple: Weekly Round Up

    Gosling, Labyrinth, Apple: Weekly Round Up

    Alright, so if you’re a regular reader of these weekly round-ups then it’ll likely come as no surprise to you at all that the biggest story this week, for me at least, is horror-themed. I mean because of course it is, because I’m a huge horror fan, and I lap up anything even slightly related to the genre.

    I was one of the many people who were hopeful for Universal’s proposed Dark Universe, an extended shared cinematic universe that was to feature their roster of Classic Monsters from the golden age of cinema, most notably; Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Invisible Man.

    Well, that particular shared Universe was brought to a screeching, train-wreck level halt of the kind Claude Rains’ Invisible Man unleashes in James Whale’s classic, when the Tom Cruise starring The Mummy was forced upon the world to a similar reception one might expect a literal plague-bringing Mummy might receive. It was a terrible, mess of a movie, and somehow managed to please precisely no-one in its approach. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; quite why anyone in their right mind would think that a Mission: Impossible style action adventure movie was the way to go when remaking a classic horror property is beyond me.

    Luckily, earlier this year, before the end of the world was upon us, we seemed to get hope in the form of Leigh Whannel’s excellent The Invisible Man.

    That movie seems to have shifted Universal’s arse into gear, and they are now moving full steam ahead with what seems to be a whole host of other monster-inspired properties, the most recent of which is this week’s big news; an update of The Wolf Man starring Ryan Gosling.

    The film is reportedly going to be written by Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, the writer’s of the popular Netflix show Orange in the New Black. While there’s no director currently attached, it has been suggested that the film will be in a similar vein to Dan Gilroy’s fantastic thriller, Nightcrawler, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal.

    I’ll be totally honest with you, folks, I am down for this. Not only am I fully behind this newly revamped (pun intended) Monster slate, but I also think we’re in dire need of a new and interesting take on the werewolf mythos. The last one I remember with a mainstream release was the Benicio Del Toro starring The Wolfman back in 2010, and that movie was… well, it was thing.

    This Nightcrawler-Wolfman thing isn’t the only project to have piqued my interest this week though, as we also got confirmation Scott Dereckson, the man behind Sinister and Doctor Strange, has found his next project after dropping out of the upcoming Doctor Strange In The Multi-verse of Madness.

    Dereckson will reportedly be helming a sequel to Jim Henson’s 1986 classic musical fantasy Labyrinth.

    Perhaps most famous for David Bowie’s crotch piece, Labyrinth also starred a young Jennifer Connolly, and boasted a script from Monty Python member Terry Jones. It also houses some of the most impressive puppet work committed to screen, and is extremely beloved by a great many as a childhood classic of untouchable proportions.

    Quite what this sequel will be is anyone’s guess, and it is unknown whether Connolly will be reprising her role from the original, but it’s a safe bet to say that, in the wake of the successful Dark Crystal prequel, Age of Resistance, this will likely lean heavily on the practical effects that many consider integral to the original’s success.

    The other big question, of course, is who will take on the role of antagonist, replacing Bowie’s now iconic turn as the Goblin King? Well, lots have names have been bandied around, including Tilda Swinton as a Goblin Queen. For my money, I like the idea of a Goblin Queen, but if we’re looking for someone to fill Bowie’s shoes within a modern context, I think the role is practically tailor-made for Lady Ga Ga. I mean, c’mon. Make this happen, please? #LadyGaGaIsTheGoblinQueen

    Finally, and most inexplicably, this week we got news that filmmaking legends Martin Scorsese, Leondaro DiCaprio and Robert De Niro can’t secure a budget. For some reason, Paramount seemed to struggle to figure out they would market a movie directed by an iconic that sees him reteam with both his current Hollywood A-lister regular collaborator and his previous Hollywood A-lister regular collabortator. I mean, I get it. It’s a hard sell…

    Set in the 1920s, Scorsese’s upcoming adaptation of book Killers of the Flower Moon, starring both DiCaprio and De Niro (seriously, what the hell, why wouldn’t you fund this beast?) is described a serial killer drama based on a true story.

    Luckily, for all us fans of films that aren’t about superheroes or space wizards, Apple stepped in to help Paramount with the costs, landing themselves a deal for the movie’s streaming rights for their streaming service Apple+. So, at least there’s someone out there in the world of Hollywood willing to fund what could very well be one of the most exciting projects ever.

  • Make My Ninetieth: Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider

    Make My Ninetieth: Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider

    May 31st 2020 marks the ninetieth birthday of Clint Eastwood. In recognition, I went back to re-visit one of the most overlooked and undervalued entries in his filmography, the elegiac Pale Rider, which he serves as star and director.

    Eastwood clearly has a lot of affection and fascination with this genre, and not just simply as it gave him his break back in the sixties. He went on to make more westerns beyond the Dollars trilogy, with Pale Rider coming in 1985, a time when everyone assumed the genre was a long dead.

    He clearly believed there was more that could be said with the western. While at first glance his first eighties foray in the genre may, at first glance, seem like a no-thrills yarn, it’s actually far more fascinating exploration of both the genre conventions and limitations, coming long before Eastwood did so to terrific effect in 1992’s Unforgiven.

    His character, known only as The Preacher, has many traits of the archetypal western hero, but in many ways Eastwood is playing against type here. The Preacher is far more thoughtful, methodical and compassionate than characters he has played before. When he does resort to violence it is more as a last resort, after seeing that he can’t appeal to the good nature of others.

    In Pale Rider, he comes to the rescue of a small community, who get by panning for gold in a nearby stream. They are also terrorised by a rival prospecting concern, backed by wealthy miner Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart), who wants to buy out all potential competition.

    The Preacher is a model of the character that made Eastwood a star, The Man With No Name (First seen in A Fistful of Dollars). But while he was motivated by his own needs and what he could gain for himself, the Preacher is the inverse.

    His motivation here is to help those in need, he is not after anything material for himself. Also, while Clint’s past incarnations were largely about the strength of the individual, here he promotes unity and group heroics. When members of the community consider leaving, he urges them not to, as they will be stronger together.

    From the start, The Preacher is purposefully made out to be a mysterious presence: he first appears after the youngest member of the community, Megan (Sydney Penny), prays for help. He also appears to have unearthly strength, the ability to disappear and bullet marks all over his back. What’s most mysterious about him, though, is given he at no time does any actual preaching, is he indeed a man of God?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0pPG6s_daY

    Eastwood, though, seems aware that the audience can work out what is being alluded to about the character. So instead focuses not on who this mysterious person is but what are his intentions and what effect does he have on the events and characters around him. In many ways, Pale Rider is evocative of High Plains Drifter, the first western directed by Eastwood, also about a mysterious gunslinger who arrives in a small town for unspecified reasons. (Though that character had more malicious motives than this one.)

    There are also shared elements with George Stevens’ Shane, and not just that both have similar plots. Much like Van Heflin in that film, the men of Pale Rider begin to feel emasculated when The Preacher arrives. In particular, Hull Barret (Michael Moriarty), who sees his intended is infatuated with The Preacher. He doesn’t respond by trying to outdo his rival, though, instead staying true to who he is, which is what ultimately makes Sarah (Carrie Snodgrass) respond to him.

    The scenes between The Preacher and Megan are the emotional core of Pale Rider. Megan is coming of age, but is in an environment where she would be unable to act on or express her newfound maturity. When her dog is killed in the film’s opening set piece she has no vessel for her affection, until The Preacher arrives.

    She confides in The Preacher how she feels about him. Whereas Clint’s characters had previously never turned down the advances of a women, this relationship will never become an intimate one. Megan feels hurt when she is turned down by the only man she has ever had feelings for, but she soon learns hating The Preacher will be more destructive than continuing to feel love for him, even if it hurts.

    As painful as it will be to live without The Preacher, she realises and accepts that she has to let him go, and her final words to him are truly heartbreaking.

    Pale Rider is a visual film, the way characters respond to one another with body language, the effect of their environments on them and how the locations serve as part of the story are all important here. Eastwood recognises that and he and cinematographer Bruce Surtees have ensured the photography is first rate to serve the visual storytelling. It is very handsomely shot and also complimented by a minimalist but effective score from Lennie Niehaus. The music is important, but allows all the room for the atmosphere to really take hold.

    Tough it may not look like it, Pale Rider is a very different film to what we might expect from Clint Eastwood. It has all of his hallmarks but the only area where he goes in guns blazing is the relationship between the characters and the events of the film. It shows that Eastwood can see the opportunity and application of a project and executes it with sensibility and intelligence.

    For its heart and soul and what it achieves both technically and emotionally, Pale Rider is a film worthy to mark it’s makers’ ninetieth special day.

  • Lucky Grandma: The BRWC Review

    Lucky Grandma: The BRWC Review

    In the heart of Chinatown, New York, an ornery, chain-smoking, newly widowed 80-year-old Grandma (Tsai Chin) is eager to live life as an independent woman, despite the worry of her family. When a local fortune teller (Wai Ching Ho) predicts a most auspicious day in her future, Grandma decides to head to the casino and goes all in, only to land herself on the wrong side of luck… suddenly attracting the attention of some local gangsters. Desperate to protect herself, Grandma employs the services of a bodyguard from a rival gang (Corey Ha) and soon finds herself right in the middle of a Chinatown gang war.

    The concept of Sasie Sealy’s Lucky Grandma is quite insane indeed. It sounds like a movie that would never ever work. Like something you’d see on an even stranger episode of Black Mirror or something along those lines. But as crazy and outlandish as it may be, it actually works quite well thanks to numerous elements at play.

    Namely the lead performance from Tsai Chin as the titular grandma. Here, she feels completely and wholly intimidating from the very first moment you see her all the way up until the end. It is without a doubt one of the strongest performances of the entire year thus far. She is asked to do a lot here, and she manages to pull it all off.

    Grandma is a character that you feel could be extremely dangerous and deadly whenever she feels like it. Don’t let her old age fool you. Just because she is elderly doesn’t mean she couldn’t harm you at any second. The cold, scary look in her eyes that stays constant throughout the running time was fascinating.

    But aside from Chin pulling off a remarkable performance, the story as a whole was quite entertaining to watch unfold. It starts off a bit rocky with a little bit of setup, and it does take a while to get going and it’s hard to get invested right away. Luckily though, the story picks up greatly in the second act with plenty of gripping and intense plot beats that will keep you intrigued the rest of the way through.

    In addition to all of this, it’s also an impeccably shot film with director of photography Eduardo Enrique Mayén putting a ton of focus on wide shots and extreme close-ups that look absolutely stunning. The look of Chinatown is incredibly eye-catching and is filled with tons of vibrant colors as well.

    Does it have its hiccups along the way? Sure it does. But then again, what movie doesn’t? It suffers from pacing issues early on and does take a while for things to get interesting, but once things get going, it becomes a relentlessly entertaining and oftentimes gripping viewing experience.

    Lucky Grandma suffers from some pacing issues but nevertheless tells a gripping and compelling story further boosted by the talent of lead star Tsai Chin.

  • A Night In ’97: Review

    A Night In ’97: Review

    It’s another chilli night in Scarborough & Whitby, as Labour Candidate Bertie Oldcross (Rodger Ringrose)and his trusted campaign manager Simon (Ryan Early) prepare for the final day of campaigning ahead of the 1997 general election.  

    On their way to a celebration party, in just one moment, their lives are changed forever. What follows is an adventure into questions of conscience, morals, and what any good person can live with.  

    A Night in 97 is a crime & politics thriller that seems to have been designed for the theatrical stage rather the cinema screen. Dark exteriors, monologueing galore and Shakespeareianesque speeches make it feel like I should be in a tiny theatre on the West End rather than watching it on an ipad while I devour my lunch in my small flat.

    I’d argue this is both a plus and a minus point. Rodger Ringrose (The Witcher) and Ryan Early (The Crown – Radio Series) give an excellent and uncannily believable performance as a political duo doing whatever it takes to win. I particularly enjoyed the radio interview where Bertie is constantly checking with his manager that he’s said the right thing, with nodding and thumbs up-ahoy.

    A Night In '97
    A Night In ’97

    The interviewer meanwhile seems completely numb to the fact her guests is clearly just given well prepared answers to callers with particular questions. The negative to all of this though seems to have been the settings and direction. it didn’t bring the realism and ‘suck-me-in’ factor that film productions normally do.

    I did feel like these people were in front of me, but not that I was in their world, and that’s where the theatre point comes in. It was a great performance, but it came across like one.

    It’s not a unique script either. While trying not to give away the plot, it follows the usual troupe of questions of conscience cinema such as A Christmas Carol or The Machinist where something they’ve done weighs on them heavily until the secrets out, or they enter a dream to learn a lesson from it. It’s nothing new. It’s simple, it’s good, but not inventive. At around 87 minutes it’s an entertaining watch, I just felt there is more to watch out there that’s better.

    A Night In '97
    Horace (Stephen Schreiber) & Adam Robinson (Michael Hunter)

    Rodger’s performance is by far the standout part, and some credit for that must go to writer and director Sam Prudence who directs the monologue scenes, and the sweet sweet timing of facial expressions and statements. He’s hit politics on the head, the way they lie, the way they want to win and the fact it’s just a job interview for most, even if they believe they’re doing something more. For that, I applaud him.

    If you’re interested in politics, labour & sweet little British crime films I’d recommend A Night in 97, but for most I’d say watch something a bit more developed like Prisoners or The Machinist

  • Shoot To Marry: Review

    Shoot To Marry: Review

    “Shoot to Marry” is a documentary style romantic comedy from filmmaker Steve Markle (“Camp Hollywood”) and winner of the 2020 Audience Award from the Slamdance Film Festival. The film follows Steve, who plays himself, on a journey to attain his heart’s true desire, a wife. After lamenting over a failed proposal to his girlfriend,

    Steve adopts a new lease on life and decides not to give up on love, but rather search for it in an unconventional way by creating a documentary about women; but, there’s a catch! It’s not actually a documentary about women. In reality, Steve just ends up using the guise of documentarian to try and find a new way to meet single women, and, hopefully, a wife.

    I appreciate the ambition from the filmmaker. It was a refreshing and somewhat odd choice to see a single man in his mid-40’s create a film, released in 2020, where his burning desire in life was to one day be a good husband. The want for marriage seems increasingly rare in cinema today when so many films portray, and in many ways normalize singleness, dating multiple people, endless swiping on apps, and divorce. That being said, the issue I hold with this is that I didn’t really like how Steve went about finding his perfect mate.

    In the film he approaches different women he finds interesting for one reason or another, tells them he’s making a documentary about interesting women, then, after meeting them, tries to pull a bait and switch and see if they want to date him. That made me uncomfortable. Using a documentary as an excuse to meet women who maybe otherwise wouldn’t have agreed to meet him seemed deceptive. I know and understand that modern dating is hard, and it’s hard to even find a decent match on a dating app, but this to me really was not the way to go.

    Though I guess it did work out for Steve in that he, without ruining any major plot points, got to take his journey of finding true love on camera, and make what ended up being an award winning documentary so I have to give him credit where credit is due; killing two birds with one stone I suppose. I did enjoy getting to meet the women Steve encountered in the film; a hat maker named Heidi Lee, and an artist named Kate Kelton were particularly interesting to me. I enjoyed their works of art and would like to know where I can purchase one of Heidi’s hats. I also adored Steve’s parents, they seemed like great people, a wonderful couple and a shining example of a rare and happy marriage, meeting them was very sweet.

    Although the random visit Steve took to a sex club where he witnessed an orgy seemed grossly out of place and out of character for a man who desired marriage, but my guess is he wanted to give the audience a good jolt and to break up the monotony of the film.

    I’m not really sure where this piece could find a place with a broader audience, I would venture to guess it would turn off feminists, and I’m not too sure how many people who are into romantic comedies would be into the whole trick date plot line, if it had have been executed in a more pure way it could have potentially resonated with them.

    I get that Markle was trying to add the whole comedy element, but pseudo dating women who had no idea he was trying to actually date them really didn’t come across all that funny to me, more than anything it felt like the comedy sort of got lost in a sea of cringe.

    All negatives aside, Markle is clearly talented, and this was a labor of love as it was apparent it was filmed over multiple years. I hope to see more of him in the future, and could totally see him with a mockumentary-style self-deprecating show like “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” I also thoroughly enjoyed the different city settings, Manhattan in particular was very fitting. Isn’t every good romantic comedy synonymous with Manhattan?