Category: REVIEWS

To this day I have never seen the Boris Karloff original The Mummy. My only experience with The Mummy is, as I’m it is with many these days, with the Brendan Fraser trilogy of films. To quickly summarise my feelings on that series, The Mummy is a film I adore, despite its many, many stupid moments and a questionable script. The Mummy Returns is a huge guilty pleasure for me, it’s not good not at all, but I still find it to be a very fun film. As for Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, while it’s not devoid of fun I do think that it’s just bad, and truth be told I can’t really remember it very well. But one thing I always thought about them was that none of these films really required a remake. But we got one anyway, because Hollywood has brought us yet another cinematic universe! They must really like money, mustn’t they.

So, the plot to this new The Mummy film is…you know, I can’t be bothered. The writers here didn’t try with this plot, so why should I. Basically mix the story of The Mummy, with Egyptian undead brought back to life and looking for a human sacrifice to bring their love to life, with that of Iron Man 2, just a series of Easter-eggs, references and characters to set up this new universe, and you have your story. Tom Cruise is in the middle of all of this and must take on a now female mummy to save the world. All the while we have our secret organisation for the film teasing the return of Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Dr Jekyll to the big screen.

I’m not going to hide this fact. I did not like this film. At all! This is because of how cynical this whole thing feels. Despite what you may think, I’m not entirely against a connected universe between the Universal Monsters. Simply because there already is one, back when Karloff was Frankenstein’s monster and Lugosi was Dracula. But this new Dark Universe is going at it all wrong, to the point where all they have accomplished is an advertisement for whatever they are going to make next. And, as such this just means that the story is a complete and utter failure; in pacing, tone and just general story telling it’s a complete failure. Adding onto that, that this film makes one minor change (with its villain being a woman) and keeps everything else as pretty much the same film we have seen before. The plot and motivations of characters are just copy and pasted from the Fraser film, while given a more modern setting.

And everything that is otherwise different to The Mummy we’ve seen in other films. Our hero has the humorous ghost of his friend following him and giving bad advice, just like in An American Werewolf in London. The villain is a black-haired woman who was killed for doing unspeakable things, and then kills those who are connected to her vessel to the mortal world by draining their life. That sounds a lot like The Ring to me. Tom Cruise is doing stunts I swear I’ve seen in his Mission Impossible series. And there is even a scene that reminded me of Avengers Assemble half way through. It’s just so blatant.

I could have forgiven it if the characters were interesting, but they weren’t. A big part of that is with the focus being forced mainly on Tom Cruise. I do understand that, he is the main character and is played by a high-calibre actor. But it does make everyone else suffer for it. That’s not to say that the acting is bad. I actually have nothing bad to say about the acting, it’s not great but everyone does a good job. Cruise may be on cruise-control, but he does an okay job as the action hero. I’ve never been a fan of Tom Cruise, and to this day he has never really won me over, but credit where credit is due. Annabelle Wallis does a decent job as the lead woman. Even if her character is one of the worst female characters I have seen since Bella in Twilight. Never does she do anything for herself, and is constantly relying on others to save her. It’s just embarrassing to watch. A lot of characters in this film do suffer from the same problem, only being there for the hero to rescue them. But her having the most screen time made it more noticeable for her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCdV3esMr9M

It is Russell Crowe and Sofia Boutella who are the saving graces of this film. Crowe plays the mild-mannered Dr Jekyll and the volatile Mr Hyde. Whenever he was on screen, particularly when donning the Cockney accent as Hyde, the film came to life and actually resembled entertainment. I was almost sad when he was gone towards the end. Boutella on the other hand is The Mummy herself. Not only is the make-up great on her but she is actually really good as the mummy. She was clearly enjoying the role and brought so much energy to it, making for an entertaining villain. Although, while Boutella herself is nicer to look at than Arnold Vosloo, I did find the design to be pretty lacking. I don’t know, maybe I’m being sentimental but I prefer the rotting corpse followed by a costume I could believe belonged to ancient Egypt than a woman in rags and covered by tattoos.

As for the horror and action that was promised…it’s not there. The film is not scary in the least, even when it does try. The action scenes are surprisingly practical based and with clearly hard-worked choreography, so I should like it right? Nope. Because every action scene, and every practical set-piece is shot so horribly that I couldn’t enjoy these scenes for what they are. The film might have been poorly written, but so were the Frazer ones. It was the directing of those films that made them fun and alive and just gorgeous to look at (when the effects weren’t beyond horrible). This film has no sense of style to it. It’s as corporate looking as they come. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was just the producers who made this film. It’s just a dull, grey and ugly mess to look at.

Maybe I’m just a bit bitter because the last five films I saw at the cinema have just felt like been-there-done-that deals. If you like those Brendan Fraser films, or even that Scorpion King film with Dwayne Johnson, then I can almost guarantee that you will hate this film. It’s also depressing that we have now got five cinematic universes, and yet only the MCU and arguably that Godzilla/King Kong one have been worth their salt. The irony to me for this Dark Universe is that Dracula Untold would have been the better start. And anyone who has seen Dracula Untold knows that isn’t a complement. In the end all The Mummy was, was nearly two hours of build-up and no pay off. I would say don’t waste your money on it, but were you really going to see it anyway?

By Marti Dols Roca.

Based on the international best seller by Fredrik Backman, it is fair to say that Hannes Holm’s A Man Called Ove has landed on its feet with nothing less than a European Film Award for Best European Comedy and two Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Ove’s story would be the paradigm of the bittersweet comedy starred by the grumpy old man next door. He is the ruthless vigilante of his residential area in Sweden making no differences between humans, cats, cars and cigarette butts. Nothing escapes Ove and you better watch your bike if left alone in the pedestrians’ area, because even if it’s a present for your girlfriend in the making, you won’t see it again if it gets on this man’s path; a man whose love for Saab is only leveled by his hate for any other car in the world. However, there’s something else in Ove’s mind after having recently lost his wife, Sonja, and being compulsory retired from work: killing himself.

And here, I’m afraid he isn’t as proficient as he is being the sheriff of his neighborhood. Ove, one could say, has earned the right of being grumpy after a series of tragedies in his life: the loss of his dad at an early age; the accident that left her wife in a wheelchair, losing their son in the way; the silent war with his old best pal for the presidency of the neighbor’s community… It’s a comedy, remember?

So when Pregnant Parvaneh (Bahar Pars) and her fool-of-a-husband come along holding hands with two half Iranian half Swedish little girls, Ove starts to grasp that maybe Sonja will have to wait a bit more than expected.

The movie starts with two indicators of what the spectator is about to see:

An initial scene in which Ove argues with a florist’s clerk because he is unable to understand the 2×1 concept; and a beautiful shot of him crossing a railway at dawn, in his way to the cemetery to see Sonja. I.e. A sober and beautifully shot comedy of tragic implications.

As Eric Idle taught us in another comedy of British craft: Always look on the bright side of life. That is precisely what this movie bases his theme on, while portraying an ode to the little beauties of being alive and sharing your love with the ones surrounding you. It’s genuinely funny, sweet and sometimes sour. It shows a good balance between clichés, new takes on old jokes and unique little situations only found in a very northern European setting.

Needless to say, the movie is not perfect: despite his 116 minutes, it sometimes fails in properly planting little subplots that will eventually pay off playing an important role in the resolution of the story; as well as falling in classical mistakes of this kind of movies (such as trying to be too sweet, too funny or too bitter).

However, as its implacable festival run and accolades show, A Man Called Ove it’s a great genre piece and, after all, a heartwarming and thought provoking film to be enjoyed and slowly digested amidst the remakes, super hero movies and shallow 3D super productions that populate the hoardings.

By Last Caress.

Emma (Elizabeth Healey, Mum’s List) is a high-powered solicitor, struggling to make it home through London during a(nother) tube strike. Ryan (Keir Charles, Man Up), is one of those fellows who create interesting sculptures out of sand on the edges of the river Thames when the tide is out. Emma has a hundred things to do, not least of which is to make it to her daughter’s birthday party. Ryan has nowt to do past maybe picking up some bits from Tesco when he’s done digging sandcastles, if he can remember. Failing to hail any of the black cabs already heaving with what would’ve been rail commuters and having already found herself heading the wrong way on a river ferry, Emma stops along the South Bank to take a call from a harried subordinate at work and promptly drops her phone over the embankment and straight into Ryan’s water bucket. As she rushes down the nearby steps to retrieve her mobile, we sense that a “meet-cute” is about to rear its head. And it is, sort-of. But it also isn’t, because Emma and Ryan have already met, many years ago. Ryan was Emma’s first love. They haven’t seen or heard from one another since they broke up.

It takes a second for the recognition to kick in but, when it does, Ryan is delighted. Emma, whilst cordial, is more pensive. The initial exchange of greetings is stilted and Emma can’t seem to get away quick enough, a smile failing to mask her apparent desire for the Earth to open up and swallow her. How many of us have been there? Almost all of us, I’d imagine. Emma makes her excuses and begins to head for nearby Waterloo station, but Ryan decides he’s finished playing in sand for the day and invites himself to tag along with her. However, the tube strike has closed Waterloo down altogether and Emma’s still stuck. No matter; she can borrow Ryan’s bicycle to get home. But, oh noes! Some rascal has stolen Ryan’s front wheel, again. Well, Ryan will just help Emma flag down a taxi. But Emma already tried that and those black cabs aren’t any less packed than they were earlier. What about a bus? Let’s wait for a bus.

As they wait, they begin to make small talk. Have you been on holiday this year? Yes, Thailand. Enjoy it? Yes. Have you been? No, never made it. If it wasn’t already fairly apparent looking solely at their career trajectories since last they met, it’s becoming clear – certainly to Emma – that they have become quite different people.

You can never go home again. Still, as their attempts to find Emma some transport home turn into a pedestrian road trip across the United Kingdom’s beautiful capital, small talk quickly turns to real talk, about what happened way back when; about things which hadn’t been spoken about yet, and which should’ve been, long since. Emma’s pensive because she’s mad at Ryan, and she’s mad because he left her, bailing on her without a word because of insecurities he was carrying about who he was and who he thought she deserved. Can they both make peace with a break-up they both regret before they can get Emma home? They’re going to try, and we’re going to stick with them while they do.

Across the River, by first-time feature writer/director Warren B. Malone, is a charming and intimate micro-slice of life, its ambitions no loftier than dropping us in on a chance meeting ‘twixt two former lovers, and staying with them just long enough to watch that meeting play out. Why do we want to stay to see them work out their past? One reason is certainly that the principals are relatable and sweet; Elizabeth Healey initially wounded, visibly lighting up as her guard comes down, and the affable Keir Charles channelling his inner Martin Freeman, both of them improvising their dialogue as they go. Another reason might be that the beautiful South Bank of the Thames in the daytime is a great place to want to hang out and we get to do just that throughout Across the River. I think though that the main reason we want to watch these guys bury the hatchet and find a good place from whence to view the life they had together is that we’d all like to be granted that opportunity; however well-meant we may have been, we’ve all flubbed the end of a relationship. We wanted to ride off into the sunset and instead we fell off the back of the horse and into the horseshit. Across the River gives us that second go at “Good-bye” we’d all like to have taken, at least once.

Across the River enjoys its London Premiere at the East End Film Festival on the 18th of June, 2017.

Book tickets HERE.

Well done DC. It only took you five years and four films, but you finally did it. You got a “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes! There has been a lot riding on Wonder Woman. Comic book fans want it to be good to do justice to the character. DCCU fans want it to be good to show those Marvel fans what-for. Women want it to be good to show a growing acceptance in Hollywood, plus a new role-model for young girls to be provided. And everyone else wants it to be good so they don’t waste yet another two-hours. And now it looks like all their wishes have come true. What with 93% on the Tomatoes website.

Wonder Woman is the origin story of the title character. Born on an island of Amazons, all woman and no men, Wonder Woman finally meets a man. A WWI pilot to be exact, who tells her of the great war beyond her calm seas. But Wonder Woman senses this war to be the work of an ancient evil; Ares, the god of war and enemy to the Amazons. She and the pilotgo to London, and after integrating with our culture head to the battle field to face the Germans and stop this ancient evil. And if you want to know more about this film before seeing it, then watch Captain America The First Avenger, because the two are very, very eerily similar.

I’m not going to build this up. What did I think to Wonder Woman? Is it good? Yes! Yes it is. But…it’s not 93% good. The reason for that is mainly due to the film’s similarities to other superhero films. I mentioned the Captain America references, which sadly start to feel more copy and paste towards the end. But really Wonder Woman does nothing that we haven’t already seen done better in other superhero films. Except, of course the woman led role of the film. That was very well done, and she can easily work as a role-model to young girls. But that’s it. Even then, she’s not the best superhero I’ve seen in total. I know, almost all superhero films are very similar so what did I expect? But my counter is that my favourite superhero films are the likes of Dredd, The Dark Knight, Spiderman 2, Guardians of the Galaxy and most recently Logan. These are different to other superhero films to varying degrees. So I don’t think it’s much to ask for Wonder Woman to at least be a little less been-there-done-that.

But, in its own right Wonder Woman is a good and very fun film. It has got easily one of, if the best soundtrack in a superhero film I’ve heard in a long time. I might buy it separately when it comes out, it’s so good. The music complements the film perfectly, whether it be an action scene or a quiet one. Which brings me to the action. There is a lot of CGI involved and not all of it is completely convincing. There is also maybe a little too much slow-motion involved. But it is just so thrilling to watch. It’s quick. It’s visceral. And it’s creatively mind-blowing. The final showdown at the end is a let-down, not to mention over-long, but all other action scenes more than make up for it. Especially one involving a small town. But, the film also knows when to have a quiet moment. And it does them brilliantly too. You get emotion when it’s needed and it does feel pretty genuine.

As for the performances, they’re pretty strong too. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman does feel like she stumbles over the odd line or two, but is otherwise excellent in her role. She looks the part, and sounds the part too. She also knows exactly how to pull off the action scenes too, simultaneously capturing her tough and delicate sides. Along for the ride is Chris Pine, who does a great job as our WWI pilot side character. He’s the straight man to Wonder Woman’s fish out of water, and gives us some good comedy from that. We have a number of familiar faces and all of them do well in their given roles. They bring comedy and humanity to whoever it is they are portraying. This is with the exceptions of the villainous characters; one is like a female Phantom of the Opera and the other is just Danny Huston with a German accent. They’re over-the-top and played for laughs and thrills only, but I enjoyed them and thought they worked well.

There is of course the “girl power” theme that comes with Wonder Woman. This did have me worried. It has happened one too many times when a film feels the need to force this theme down our throats, as opposed to making a good film. Luckily though, that is not an issue at all here. The theme is subtle and well woven into the story and time setting, making excellent use of the WWI setting. Patty Jenkins as the director appears to have been much more concerned with making a good film, and that is exactly how it should be. Although, while the director of the Oscar winning Monster directed this, there doesn’t appear to be much style to it. Jenkins is a very good director, but this film feels more corporate than her others. This is not to say that the directing is bad, far from it this is a well-directed film. It just feels a little held back.

Most other issues I have with the film are mostly just nit-picks. We do still have the stupidity that came with Man of Steel and Batman Vs Superman, even if there is far less of it. Some of the comedy doesn’t hit. Some of the side-characters are a bit under-developed. The climactic battle is visually interesting, but too long and not that thrilling. At least compared to what came earlier. I have found that the DCCU has always struggled with its special effects. They are good effects, but they are always lit or shot in a way that make it very apparent that what you are seeing is just an effect. Wonder Woman is no different. Also, taking a page from Marvel’s book, the villain is not very interesting and just pretty weak altogether. That last point is pretty problematic. But the rest, as I said, are just nit-picks really.

Wonder Woman is not a great film. But it is a very good one, and is worth the price of a ticket. It is the DCCU’s first good film, standing head, shoulders and a good bit of the torso above the rest. But as a superhero film in general, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. I don’t think the reception would have been as strong as it has if it were a Marvel film, personally. As soon as you can, get together and go to your nearest cinema for this one. Measure your expectations and Wonder Woman, thankfully, will not disappoint.