“Real love’s hard to come by. So you find a way to cope without it.” – Elton John
SYNOPSIS: A musical fantasy about the fantastical human story of Elton John’s breakthrough years. – via IMDB
Well, this certainly wasn’t Bohemian Rhapsody. Not that I really expected that per se, because I did watch the preview and I wasn’t sold then, but I didn’t think it would be quite so… bland and generic?
Bryce Dallas Howard knocks it out of the park. Honestly, what a reprehensible character. Excellent. However, that does not detract from the fact that the characters were all incredibly one-dimensional. Taron Egerton and Jamie Bell both perform admirably in their roles, and are the only two with actual fleshed out characters. The costumes were really well designed, and really reminds you how Elton John was this larger than life character.
One thing that really got under my skin is how this movie squeezed these bizarre musical numbers in between everything, making the movie not flamboyant or musical enough to be a musical, but the musical numbers were jarring enough to yank you out of the narrative every single time, leaving you with the feeling that the movie couldn’t quite decide what it wanted to be. I know some have praised the choice of it being a musical fantasy, but it just didn’t quite work for me.
Anyway, as you can tell, I wasn’t the biggest fan of this movie. It is not the worst thing you will ever sit down to watch, but it certainly feels like an extremely one-sided story. The music is really good, the performances are fine, but the movie is long and, ultimately, won’t really be remembered.
“God says we need to love our enemies. It hard to do. But it can start by telling the truth. No one had ever asked me what it feel like to be me.” – Aibileen Clark
SYNOPSIS: An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids’ point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis. – via IMDB
I didn’t really know what to expect going into this, I did as little reading on it as possible. I was only told that it is really good and well worth the watch. The subject matter is something that interests me, and it wasn’t long before I realised that this was a movie I was going to enjoy based purely on the fact that the subject matter was handled from the perspective of women alone.
Let’s get right to this by saying that there are some great characters in this, and there are some truly reprehensible ones. Emma Stone is, of course, absolutely fantastic to watch here – sassy and strong. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are brilliant – also strong women – brave women. Then there is Jessica Chastain, and she is such a sweet, innocent character. These are all characters that you like. They had good chemistry and worked well together. I enjoyed watching Celia and Minny every second, and the relationship between Aibileen and Skeeter is also touching. On the other side of the spectrum, there is only one I really need to mention here, and that is Bryce Dallas Howard. Her character is so cruel and mean, and Howard plays her so well that you resent her guts. Ugh. Nasty stuff. I get mad just thinking about her transgressions and views.
Anyway, telling the civil rights struggle from the perspective of the women was something new, and that it was being investigated by another woman was also good. So often we hear of the plight from men, but the women, too, had stories to tell. The movie managed to balance cruelty, humour, joy and sadness very well, but it must also be noted that the subject matter, while heavy, never gets as heavy as it could. Look at it as this being a lighter serious movie, if that makes sense. Simplistic, that would be the word I would use. Also probably safe. Drama, yes, but not on the levels of, say, The Colour Purple or American History X.
A sweet film that tackles some heavy issues, but never really going for the guts and glory, but certainly carried by stellar performances and a great cast, so as to elevate it to an enjoyable watch. The movie plays it safe, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing here. Worth a watch.
“Nothing in Jurassic World is natural, we have always filled gaps in the genome with the DNA of other animals. And if the genetic code was pure, many of them would look quite different. But you didn’t ask for reality, you asked for more teeth.” – Henry Wu
SYNOPSIS: Jurassic World has been running with great success for more than a decade in the wake of the disaster that haunted the island 22 years ago. The park’s geneticists have once again broken scientific and ethical boundaries in order to raise attendance for the park, now experiencing a decline in happy customers. Convinced that the new attraction will bring in many more people, but having crossed the line once again, the results may be devastating. – via IMDB
Owen being all badass:
This scene made me crack up immensely, even though it was adorable (I mean just look at that cuddle hug):
Could she find it in herself to please be more enthusiastic next time?!
Well, I had a reasonable amount of fun with this movie – flawed as it is and all. I missed it in theatre, and even when watching it now I don’t feel that I missed out or anything like that. Chris Pratt was, again, in fine form and really good in his role, it seems he is finding a niche for himself and that is really cool because he is very entertaining to watch. He was so badass here and I thoroughly enjoyed his cahracter. I thought the Indominus Rex was a bit of a let down, I expected something insane, and that is all that we got. I liked seeing Nick Robinson again, though he will forever be the kid that called the cops on his dad over a Monopoly game to me. The supporting cast was, overall, very good, and they all delivered quite well, even in limited roles. Bryce Dallas Howard managed to not grate on my last nerve in this, though someone really needs to speak to her makeup artist – that blush/contouring made her look like she had been punched in the beginning! Also, let’s speak about the heels. I know everyone from here to Timbuktu has discussed it, but can someone please tell me what shoes those were?! I totally need a pair for my wedding – apparently comfortable enough to wear for at least twelve hours, are perfectly suited for running (not that one can’t run in heels, I just don’t think it would be comfortable long term), and don’t sink away in grass, mud, or any other soft surface. Now see, that’s not a deal breaker for me and I had quite a bit of fun with it overall (even though I know some people totally lost their minds about it) and I mean come on, Bryce Dallas Howard even went for training to ensure she could run in these heels for the duration of the movie! Anyway, the movie is quite fun for popcorn entertainment, and as long as you don’t take it too seriously you should be alright (like really, some of the things that happened in there will make you cringe). When we got to the final “boss” fight – it was totally predictable. My other half had been waiting for that T-Rex pretty much from the off, but SPOILER: WTF was up with the whole epic fight going down, Raptor and T-Rex up against this hybrid, whoop, and then all of a sudden -BAM!- and it gets scarfed by the Mosasaurus. What the hell was up with that?! We were having fun! Not to mention that the T-Rex and the Raptor have their moment of understanding before parting ways. Wut?! The score was good, and I thoroughly enjoyed the throwbacks and Easter eggs that could be found throughout the movie. Something that I didn’t like was the whole military spin. Not saying it couldn’t have worked, it could have if they had just written it in better. Right now it just feels like this “ooooh, this could be cool” afterthought that was squashed in to contribute another aspect to potentially create a meatier story, which it ultimately failed at. The story, overall, was absolutely nothing new and there was never any serious suspense, either. There were too many flaws and holes: just think of what suddenly happened to all those dreaded flying dinos that just suddenly went MIA, for instance, or the worst helicopter gunner in history or why the Mosasaurus never chomped on any front row watchers at the shark bite show (even though I understand the I-Rex broke the fence that kept it in – really, that was the only defense?!), just to name a few. Jurassic World succeeds at being a fun, light, popcorn perfect film that’s great to watch with friends.
The Sporadic Chronicles 