Update

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Craig M

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus, and not reviewed any movies for a few weeks (but have watched a couple – more on that below). Life gets in the way. Amongst other things, my focus has primarily been on my writing. Currently I have one novel published, Showdown In Los Angeles, and have been finalising the next three novels in the series, which I will publish over the next few months. My writing has been such a passion since I was young and I’ve written several stories, and these four I’m very proud of. I think they have good characters and some good situations, but the it the proof I’m sure for anyone interested will be in the reading. So by all means seek me out on Amazon, at the following link: Author https://www.amazon.com/stores/Craig-Micklewright/

As said I’ve also been watching a few movies. First off was Wes Anderson’s The French Despatch (Good+) that whilst visually as clever and as captivating as The Grand Budapest Hotel, with a similar structure, I didn’t feel the individual stories were as enjoyable or the characters as rich. However likes of Benicio Del Toro and Adrian Brody still proved enjoyable. Next up was Amsterdam (Good) an enjoyable crime farce starring Christian Bale and Margot Robbie, which was fun and had entertaining characters, but it’s story wasn’t very engaging. Still, not as awful as some critics may have you believe.

On the horizon, I am intending to catch up a few movies, and mainly intend to watch (and review) Park Chan-Wook’s latest Decision to Leave, which I recently purchased on Blu-ray. So hopefully look out for that. Until then I’m also contemplating a new writing project, see how that fairs.

Craig.

Blonde

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Craig M

Viewed – 01 October 2022 Netflix

I won’t say I’m an expert on the career or life of legendary Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe, yet I approached this movie with some caution as I’d heard it was more an ‘Inspired by true events’ take than a full on biopic. However it wasn’t long until I began to get a feel for the woman and her image as actress Ana De Armas (Knives Out) stepped into her shoes and truly became the iconic sex symbol.

Charting the life of Norma Jean Baker, who would eventually transform into Marilyn Monroe, this details a troubled childhood with a mentally ill mother, through to her attempts to become an actress and eventually super-stardom. Along the way we have Hollywood producers sleazing over her and making her do ‘things’ just to get a part, a ménage a trois relationship with Charlie Chaplin jr, through to her marriages with ex-baseball star Joe DiMaggio & play-write Arthur Miller (even though names are changed here).

Having read up on the life of the actress since, in many ways, this gives a good interpretation of Marilyn’s life (with some deviations), and other than sections detailing abortions and sexual abuse, both of which are not exactly stretches to imagine happening, I came away feeling I’d had an education. Director Andrew Dominik has delivered a haunting yet absorbing experience with a stunning & uncanny central performance from Ana De Armas (who surely deserves an Oscar nom). His creative approach to editing, camera work, the use of various types of film stock, aspect ratios and camera lenses all helped convey the fragile psychology and tragedy of Marilyn – and for me raised this movie into something rather mesmerising. It doesn’t cover everything, and I’d have preferred some of the more gratuitous aspects were toned down, as it can get quite graphic … but overall this was powerful viewing.

Verdict: Recommended

See How They Run

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Craig M

Viewed – 26 September 2022 Cinema

I recall enjoying the revival of the classic whodunnit with the other year’s Knives Out. This follows a similar blueprint but sticks even closer to the Agatha Christie style by setting the story at a theatre production of one of the author’s plays, where an arrogant movie director (Adrian Brody) is murdered. A world weary inspector (Sam Rockwell) and his prodigy constable (Saoirse Ronan) are called in to investigate and unmask the killer.

The trailer for this has strong Wes Anderson vibes, which is no bad thing and the inclusion of Ronan in the cast made this an instant must see for me. Thankfully this didn’t disappoint. It’s a gently, quirky comedy with bags of style and that sort of caricature approach to the performances that I often find really enjoyable. At the heart of the movie is Rockwell & Roman’s double act that’s fun and charming throughout. Support from Adrian Brody, Reece Sheersmith amongst others is also decent, making for a personality-rich experience.

The final reveal is a bit weak, and few more star names amongst the ensemble cast would have been welcome. Yet I had a great time with this and it kept a smile on my face throughout.

Verdict: Recommended

Thor Love and Thunder

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Craig M

Viewed – 16 September 2022 Disney+

I was quite hyped for this when I saw the trailer. Thor Ragnorok remains for me one of the more enjoyable Marvel movies, so going into this follow-up I was hoping for another dose of entertainment. This time we have Thor (Chris Hemsworth) out to stop a maniac warlord called ‘Gorr the God Butcher’, who blames the gods for the death of his daughter. Back on earth, Thor’s ex girlfriend Jane (Natalie Portman) is dying of cancer until she discovers hope in Thor’s shattered hammer.

Directed again by Taika Waititi (Jo Jo Rabbit) this mostly light-hearted adventure is full of jokes and visual pyrotechnics as Thor wages war and bumps into characters like The Guardians of the Galaxy and Zeus (Russell Crowe), all to the soundtrack of Guns N Roses. Yeah, sometimes the jokes don’t always land, there’s a few poor effects shots and I grew tired of the screaming goats quickly. Yet the action is fun, the tone is fun and the story good enough for this kind of thing.

It’s a shame then that, despite best efforts Christian Bale is simply ‘ok’ as the villain, failing to figuratively ‘jump out of the screen’. Otherwise, it’s hard to find much fault here. Many of the scenes are very enjoyable and I got caught up in the action and entertainment factor the movie was clearly going for. Natalie Portman also held her own alongside the gods (whilst avoiding ‘woke’ pitfalls of other recent movies). Overall better than critics and the generally negative culture of the internet might have you believe. Simply put – I’d watch it again.

Verdict: Good+

Ambulance

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Craig M

Viewed – 10 August 2022 online rental

For some reason, people like to hate on Michael Bay. However I’ve enjoyed his movies, the ones I have seen – and consider movies like The Rock and Transformers classics. This latest is about a guy trying to get money for his wife’s operation who turns to his brother, and gets pulled into doing a bank robbery.

One of my favourites, Jake Gyllenhaal stars here as the career criminal brother who talks his brother into aiding him steal millions. Of course things don’t go to plan. This is every bit a Michael Bay movie, stylish and packed with action, explosions and a sun-drenched Los Angeles. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who I didn’t recognise is very good as the other brother just trying to do the right thing, and Eiza González as a straight-talking paramedic also proves decent. Gyllenhaal of course steals it though and is manically charismatic throughout.

This felt like Speed, being mostly a never ending chase sequence and is both exciting and rather intense. The action decent and well executed. The movie movie is let down slightly by a ton of overly stylish camera work, using I’m guessing drones to capture even the most mundane of shots. It gets a bit much. It also felt too long, due mainly to the intensity. Overall though this was good fun and had enough character and energy to make this worthy of your time.

Verdict: Good+