"Bad Times At The El Royale"

During recent visits to the Cinema, I have seen the trailer for this new release a number of times, and each time it has left me with a sense of looking forward to seeing it. My need to see the film was sped up, when it became apparent that it would be leaving my local Cineworld after just one week. This was not a good sign......

We start at the infamous hotel where we see a suitcase being buried in one of the rooms. Jump forward ten years and we are back at the hotel as a group of varied Customers arrive all looking for a room at the El Royale. The hotel is split right down the middle as the State line goes right through the Centre of the hotel, so they can either stay in the California or Nevada side.
It is clear from the off that all the new residents of the El Royale have secrets, and by the looks of it, so do the staff.

Events all come to a head with the arrival of Cult leader Chris Hemsworth, and there is a big showdown in the hotels Foyer.
What struck me is that it seemed to echo the far superior "Pulp Fiction", in that there is a group of varying characters, once introduced the timelines jump around and from different perspectives. And despite both films having a similar running time, just under two and a half hours, where with "Pulp Fiction" the time just flies, with "Bad Times" it does rather drag, and it could quite easily have had a good 20 - 30 minutes shaved off.

There was some distracting sights in the film, most notably the following:-

I suppose it could be classed as some form of compensation for a lacklustre film.....6 out of 10

"Fahrenheit 11/9"

Out there amongst the masses, there are fans of Film-maker Michael Moore, and there are his haters too. Over the years, Moore has made a variety of insightful documentaries, whether looking at the decline of his Home town of Flint Michigan, or America's ridiculous obsession with Guns, to Health Care, and the lack there of, and of course in "Fahrenheit 9/11" he looks at President Bush, and his time in The White House.
So, I guess in a way, this is something of a sequel, the only thing is we have a change in the lead. We have gone from President Bush to Donald Trump.

Anyone who has seen the former film will get a sense of deja vu when watching F11/9, as it opens in exactly the same way that the earlier film did. Was it all a dream? It takes a fascinating opening look at that election of 2016. Seeing the comparisons between the Democrats and Republicans as the evenings events unfold was quite something.
There are also some startling, I guiess you'd call them claims, made by Moore, and his close relationship with a particular family member.
The film tries to explain how Trump became the 45th US President, and it looks at the Governor of Michigan, and from there the film looks at a health issue in Flint involving polluted drinking water. From here we hear very little about Trump, and its more about the lack of care and help that the people of Flint received. It is very much a film of two halves, in fact the story of Rick Snyder, Governor of Michigan and the whole Flint health problems could have been a seperate film in its own right.
Moore evens take a swing at Presidents Clinton & Obama, so no-one is out of range.

With a style similar to that of F9/11, the film looks at the issues raised with a mix of clips, interviews and is both shocking, powerful and insightful. Forgive the expression but it does make one wonder how America got so fucked up.
A well made film, though not quite as good as it predecessor, and I would have liked a little more on Donald J. Trump, and possible links to a Country renowned for Vodka and the Cold War.

Moore doing what Moore does best......8 out of 10

"A Star Is Born"

I have to admit my failings as a film fan with regard to this new release in that I thought that this was the second remake. I naturally knew of both the Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand starring movies, but I was not aware that these too were both remakes and that the original film came out way back in 1937.

There has been a lot of talk about this movie. There is much gushing from the Critics about every aspect of the film, and the audiences also are flocking to see the film in high numbers.
It sees the Directorial debut of lead Actor Bradley Cooper, and although not her first time on the big screen, I guess you could say that this is the first major starring role for lead actress Lady Gaga.

Looking at the time line, it would seem that "A Star is Born" is revisted every 20 to 30 years, and this time round we have Bradley Cooper as Jackson Maine, a Country & Western star, still popular and regularly on tour, and all this despite a great love for alcohol, and definitely too much of it. Coming off stage and in serious need of a drink, he finds himself in a Drag bar, and whilst whetting his whistle, on stage comes Ally, a young woman, popular with the clientele, and as she performs, it lights a spark in Jackson.
They start spending time together, and there is a real chemistry between them. During one of his concerts, she has a Backstage pass, and despite her belief that she is not talented, he manages to get her to come on stage with him, and perform one of her own songs. Terrified, she overcomes her insecurities, and gives a blinding performance in a duet with Jackson.
And that is where everything changes.

Given the technological World we live in, it is only natural that someone films her performance with their mobile and said video ends up on YouTube.
Naturally record Producers coming knocking at her door.
For want of a better phrase, it is the old rags to riches story, where the performing veteran takes a back seat as this young and very talented lady becomes a really huge star. Her Career and his drinking lead to a truly embarrassing moment, and one does wonder if her time in the limelight has come crashing to an end.

Yes, it is as good as people say, me included.
A story that has been done many times, but given new blood with great performances especially from the two leads, but also amazing songs, performed again by the two main leads.
Bradley Cooper is great as the whisky drinking Jackson Maine. But the real star, probably quite aptly is Lady Gaga who just truly shines as Ally. Whether acting or performing her own songs, she really is exceptional, and it will be interesting to see if she is shortlisted for an Academy Award come January.
Bradley Cooper does however excel in the Directors Chair, he directs the film with a look and style that gives the impression that he has been directing for years. He is a natural. One wonders whether he has been picking up tips from some of the greats that he has been directed by, style wise most notably Clint Eastwood.

One definitely to watch.......9 out of 10

"First Man"

One of the major marketing aspects of this film, is that if watched the right way, for example on IMAX, this will be as close as some will ever get to being in a rocket or landing on the moon.

The Director and lead actor of Oscar winning movie "La La Land" are reunited, as they tell the story of Neil Armstrong and his mission to be the first on the moon. The film opens in spectacular style as we find our astronaut in a test flight, and having to make a crash landing on Earth. This sees him getting grounded. Frustrated he wonders if his lunar dreams will be realised.
Obviously we all know how the story ends, but this film documents the journey made, the costs both financially and in lives lost.

There are aspects of the film that are top notch, for example the recreation of the 1960's, the sound effects and editing, and the visual effects most notably used with the various craft taking off and their journey into space.

As I mentioned much has been made of the use of IMAX cameras during the making of this film. For me one thing is clear.
Director Christopher Nolan knows how to use an IMAX camera.
Director Damien Chazelle does not know how to use an IMAX camera.
If you are going to show one of your cast members, then it is rather unwise to do a rather extreme close-up especially on the IMAX format, and given the size of the screen that the imagery will be shown on. There are other times when footage is shown blurred. I would really pity any poor sod who sits too close to the screen, unaware of what they are going to see, this could quite easily induce motion sickness.

Despite being the leading man, I'm afraid that Ryan Gosling does not get the best opportunity to flex his acting muscles. Very little demand is made of him as an actor, probably the main time is when Neil is coping, as best he can, with the loss of his daughter. I do think that Claire Foy fairs better as his Wife, Janet.

It was a shame to walk away from this film feeling a little disappointed. But alas that was the case. It was a good film but not the great movie that I had hoped for.......7 out of 10.

"Mile 22" - preview screening

In the battlefield, when the diplomatic channels break down, and when the Military option has failed, prepare to be introduced to the latest offensive....Overwatch.
They are a covert Team who deal with any number of global threats, whether taking down Russian Terror cells operating in the US, or trying to track 9 lbs of radioactive Isotope, in the wrong hands it could level 6 major Cities.
Whilst working out of South Asia, at the US Embassy, a local Police official presents himself at the main gates, and says that he can provide information as to the missing substance. For safe passage to the US, he will reveal what he knows, but can he be trusted?  Is his intelligence legitimate?

Heading the team in the field is a very higly strung James Silva (Mark Wahlberg), and running things behind the scenes is Bishop (John Malkovich). The local Authorities arrive en masse to reacquire their local boy, before he can reveal any sensitive information. When a kill order fails, the Overwatch team realise that they need to get him out the Country as soon as.
Bishop arranges for a Military plane to land at a rendezous point, and fly him to safety. All Silva and the team have to do is deliver him to the pick up point, some 22 miles away. Easy???  Well it would be if it were not for a team of Shooters from the South Asian authorities out to do everything they can to stop them.

So the rest of the film is the US Overwatch team playing Cat & Mouse with the South Asians. It plays out well on screen, there is a great car and bike chase which is well shot. There is also a fast paced fight in a Cafe, however the problem with this action scene is that the photography is too in your face, and the appalling editing means there is barely half a second of footage on screen before the Editor cuts to another shot, and so on. I doubt even if you were sat on the back row of the Cinema, that it would make any difference.
But this is not a run of the mill action film, as all it most definitely not as it seems. And the film builds to a great conclusion.

Wahlberg is as reliable as ever, and Malkovich is a tad more sedate than usual. This is another great team effort, especially that Wahlberg and Director Peter Berg previously worked together on both "Lone Survivor" and "Patriot's Day". 

Had the photography and Editing been more professionally done, then the score would have been higher, so for that......7 out of 10

"Searching"

This latest thriller continues the trend of all the footage being done as either webcam / Skype or online news reels etc. And rather unusually it all works really well. All too often with this type of film, a protagonist has to come up with some ludicrous reason as to why they armed with a camcorder 24/7, but by using more social media and home made videos, it works, and it is really effective.

In the film we get introduced to David Kim and his Daughter Margot. His relationship with his Daughter strengthened since the passing of David's wife. This is well documented in the use of looking back at home videos etc. Margot is a lovely Daughter, popular at Class, goes to Piano lessons, a real model Child, apart from lacking in doing chores at home.

Then every Parents nightmare arrives, and after an evening out at a study class, Margot does not come home. David contacts her friends but no-one knows where she is. As panic starts to set in, the Police are contacted. David is assigned an officer who is in charge of his Daughters disappearance. In a role departure, we see Debra Messing (Will & Grace) as the Officer charged with finding the missing student. She advises David to try and find out as much information about his Daughter and her friends from her online usage.
The more that David finds out about his Daughter, the more he realises that they were not as close as he first thought.

Ultimately the film belongs to John Cho, especially as we see his desperation to get any information that will reunite him with his missing Daughter. He starts to fall apart as his search seems to get him nowhere.
Debra Messing is also really good as the assigned Officer helping in the search. Nice to see her in a dramatic role.

This is the feature film debut from Director and Co-Writer Annesh Chaganty.And judging by what I have seen with this first film, he has a remarkable future in front of him.
During the trailer, there was one critic comment that said that the film was worthy of Hitchcock. Now that is some bold statement to make, but it is tense, and does have some wonderful OMG moments.

For the style of the film, the tension, and John Cho's great performance.......9 out of 10

"The Happytime Murders"

Anyone who has grown up watching beloved characters like 'Kermit', 'Miss. Piggy', 'Big Bird' or Oscar the Grouch may be completely outraged by this new comedy, or you could be of the same opinion as me, and absolutely love it.

The film is set in world where puppets and people live together.
We get introduced to Private Detective Phil Philips, who is working on a case but ends up getting involved in a mass shooting in a Porno store. He ends up working with his former Police Partner to try and figure why the stars of a 90's kids show are being bumped off. Hostilities rise up between the Cop and Private Dick, and Melissa McCarthy is well matched to take on anything coming her way, whether warm blooded or hand stitched.

It's a great concept, and the story works well. The puppets are brilliantly done, there is a nice little video during the end credits which gives insight into how they were brought to life.
The best way to describe it is it is like watching "Sesame Street" but an after 10pm special, so there are no holds barred, and thats definitely the case here.

Despite the mauling that some critics have given it, if you go in knowing what to expect, then like me you will find it to be highly entertaining, laugh out loud comedy.....7 out of 10