315, Ladies First

If there is any actor out there that splits opinions more than anyone else, it has to be Sacha Baron Cohen.

Famed in the early noughties and beyond for his defining character portrayals of Ali G, Borat, Bruno & The Dictator Aladeen, to the much lesser controversial roles of King Julian & Nobby - it's rare to find him in a straight role, without the accents or make-up but Ladies First definitely makes up for that.

In a mix of Freaky Friday meets What Women / Men Want - Cohen portrays the role of Damien Sachs - an egotistical, chauvinistic male Advertising Exec, single - no kids and revelling in his manosphere environment whilst the overworked, underpaid and under-appreciated female counterparts - namely Alex Fox (Rosumund Pike) battle the work / life / kids balance, always finishing in second place.

Out story kicks off with Guinness (Yes, that one) wanting their Ad campaign (headed up by Damien Sachs) to get a female on the Exec board to focus on their new Guinness 'wine' - so Sachs promotes Fox, not for her ability or prowess but purely due to her gender into the lead role, but without any of the power, much to her disbelief when this all comes to light and following a very disagreeable public falling out with Sachs, see's Fox resign.

When then attempting to ratify the decision with Fox about his decision being the right one - BANG! bump to the head - and a re-awaking to a very very different world.

Women have all the power - and the status quo on the male dominant environment is completely flipped on it's head.

The plot - Sachs has to re-invent himself if he wants to get back into his own reality which can only be done if he is 'back on top' so faces the battle of trying to be number 1 in a new environment that completely favours the alternative sex.

What this film does brilliantly is the re-branding of pretty much everything we know in modern life - Kings Cross becomes Queens Cross - brands such as Burger Queen, Vincent Westwood, Victor's Secret, Harriet Potter & The Lady of the Rings are just a few of the dozens of changes you need to look out for as the movie rolls along.

They changes don't stop there - 'Calm down love' & 'is it the time of the week / month?' take on a whole new meaning and the 'Manopause' along with men being cat-called on the street all look in common place in this alternate reality.  

The trauma men now face of having to have the right hair, clothes, look - being sexually objectified, belittled and having to shave everywhere just to be accepted starts becoming a reality for our once worry free anti-hero - even his normally boisterous nephews are now hair platting and discussing recipes with Dad.     

In all honesty - this film will make Men take a good look at themselves in almost every aspect of their lives and it's the most awakening realisation of the female struggles, even in todays supposed equality driven environment that just go to share how unfair certain aspects of it still are.  

Even I missed loads of nuances in the movie that my wife definitely picked up on to the point where I responded with "do we do that?" and I got a look of  - in general - Yes! that went straight over my own head - so it will put these differences front and centre for the whole audience.

It's well casted - Cohen and Pike are fabulous and on the male side, Tom Davis as Cohens brother in-law, Charles Dance as the Ad Agencies CEO (in the male world) & Richard E Grant as the 'voice of reason' are all well played but it's the ladies definitely steal the show.

Emily Mortimer (Sach's Sister), Fiona Shaw (PA turned CEO) & Kathryn Hunter (Cleaner turned Chairwoman) are standout - each living their best possible lives in a world where women definitely come out on top and they do a fabulous job at it!

It's around 90 mins long and as with all re-awakening stories - (spoiler alert) Damien Sachs does come out if this a much better man for all the right reasons.  

It's a comedy with a real meaning and yes, some of the script (and Cohens acting) is a bit wooden in places, which is why he probably makes such a fabulous character actor as playing the straight guy isn't really his forte but overall it's a real eye opening look at modern lifestyles and challenges and one I'd highly recommend.  

Well done Netflix. 

 

314, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

Come on! A brand new, totally bona fide Star Wars movie back on the big screen - what better way to return after a 2 month break with a movie and franchise very close to my heart.

The Mandalorian (in my mind) remains the best Star Wars 'spin-off' yet created.  Conceived and written by Jon Favreau (Marvel + much more) this is almost a love story to the entire Star Wars franchise, using Mando and Grogu as connectors to characters and stories dating back to the 70's and 80's.

The plot isn't a tricky one to work out;  Mando is completing some Bounty Missions for the New Republic, tracking down scattered War Lords & to get information on a certain individuals location, Mando is persuaded to complete a job for the twin siblings of recently deceased (if you follow the timeline) Jabba the Hutt to find and rescue their nephew Rotta the Hutt (Jabba's son) - however, trickery is soon uncovered as it's not his release they seek but his demise as Rotta's death would line the twins up to have sole control of the Hutt empire with the true heir out of the way.

Rotta is a piece of genius.  Ripped, agile, with pecs, abs and voiced by Jeremy Allen Wright (The Bear / Springsteen / Iron Claw), he is a gentle soul & keen to be rid of his fathers criminal legacy, wanting to make a name for himself.  Rotta is captive yes, but enjoying fighting in a Gladiatorial arena where he is basically the home town hero after winning over a once hostile crowd - he is revelling in the stardom in the hope his next battle will see him released (that's what they all say!)

Obviously, this isn't as straight forward as Rotta hopes it should be (no surprises there) and along with Mando and Grogu, plus a few other supporting characters look to bring down the captors, the Hutt Twins and anyone else who stands in their way.

This movie is fantastic.  The attention to detail in some of the scenes is just phenomenal - and for the real fans out there, pay particular attention to the monster battle that is direct re-construction of the Dejarik game Chewie is playing on the holographic chessboard on the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope (remember that?) It's just a few seconds of footage but the real life battle that occurs in the arena has the same Monsters and moves seen in the 77' original - awesome!

The effects throughout are great - it totally feels like a Star Wars movie but you don't really need to watch the Mandalorian seasons first to get an understanding of what's happening.  It helps of course, but only for character depth.  As a movie, this seamlessly links in with those preceding it if you want it too - but also works as a standalone entity.

I love how they've avoided CGI for Grogu and maintained puppetry & yes, it looks a little clunky in places but that's the part of the adoration for this franchise.  Seeing a CGI Yoda battling Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones always seemed a step to far so returning to this basic approach (I say basic - the puppeteers would probably disagree!) with Grogu just adds a lot more personality to this adorable little green hero and still, without real words - manages to convey every emotion and mannerism to perfection.  We all love him even more after this recent outing.

There are of course cameos - look out for Sigourney Weaver & listen out for Martin Scorsese (needs no explanation) as the food-cart vendor Hugo Durant and Star Wars OG - C3PO's Anthony Daniels providing the voice of the Air Traffic Controller Droid.  The Lucasfilm VP Doug Chaing steps in as New Republic Lieutenant Blick and there are even some prior Disney+ series Directors appearing as uncredited X-Wing Pilots in the final scenes.  

I honestly believe those involved in the Mando series (and this movie) are just huge Star Wars fans who are are telling the stories they would want to see being made.  Knowing how the nostalgia impacts the die-hard fan base and the introduction of newer characters and locations attracts an ever growing audience.  

This has hyped me up even more for the He-Man re-imagining, again - Directed by a fan and wanting to give the audience what we've waited 40+ years to see and not in an eighties, Dolph Lundgren way.

As for Mando & Grogu - for a Galaxy that initially started in 49 years ago 'Far Far Away', I think it all now feels much closer to home for many of us and long may that continue.

313, Mercy

Mercy is the most recent offering on Amazon Prime and couldn't be more simple if I wrote it myself. 

We open with a dissorientated Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) handcuffed into a futuristic chair, being read the equivalent of his rights and about to face trial for the alleged murder of his own wife earlier that day with 'A.I' Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson) acting as Judge, Jury and Excecutioner.  

He has 90 minutes in the chair to reduce his guilty 'percentage' to an acceptable level by accessing cloud information of photos, files, videos, camera footage, phone records and calls to convince Maddox of his innocence otherwise, face immediate excecution.

And that's it! Think Phone Booth 'meets' Minority Report and you're almost there.  The backstory is quite simnple - Raven is a Police Officer who in part, openly supports and backs the "Mercy" Judicial approach and now he finds himself as it's latest participant.  Awaking in the chair, he learns first hand of his wife's death - and sees bodycam footage of his arrest following some pretty awfull behaviour but swears his innocence to the murder even though at this time, all evidence points towards him.

Set in the not to distance in the future, with everything cloud accessible, Raven is able to to reference footage captured from anytime, anywhere - and speak to whoever he can to support his case and once the immediate grief of what has happened to his wife has sunk in, sets out on a fast paced investigation with a constant countdown in place to find the perpetrator - all while being strapped to a chair.

The action and outside support is fed into his digital courtroom via screen projections and body / phone cam footage with Maddox supporting in obtaining requested files, calling interested parties and accessing data and historical details to support Ravens hasty investigation.

This movie has a few plot twists throughout with early suspects in the frame but although potential dead ends - does throw light to other lines of investigation that do, in the end - lead to ensuring justice is served.

Pratt is great as Raven.  His character isn't quite the nice guy you'd hope, but that adds to the tension of 'did he / didn't he' with his anger and alcoholism issues front and centre but Pratt manages to convey all of that all while remaining seated throughout the movie, with the exception of the pre-crime footage of him being played out in video and real-time form.

Ferguson, as the dead-pan 'A.I' Judge remains a constant digital screen presence and Raven's daughter Britt, played by Kylie Rogers (Yellowstone's 'Young' Beth) is a fiesty teen who's torn between losing her Mum and wanting to belive her Dad's innocence but being swayed by Grandparents to her Dad's guilt were both great additions.

Other cast member include Raven's 'Cop' parter Jac (Kali Reis - True Detective), Friend and AA sponsor Rob (Chris Sullivan - Behemoth in Megamind / Jerry in American Dad!) and finally the poor murdered wife played by Annabelle Wallis (Grace from Peaky Blinders).

I think you need to stick with this one - the opening 15 minutes or so make you feel this is going to a bit of a slog - watching Chris Pratt strapped to a chair for 90 minutes trying to proive his innocence to a computer generated, non compassionate AI Judge - but things start hotting up when his colleagues - all of which do seemingly believe he's incapable of the crime he's accused of, rally round to follow his direction and try and solve the crime - all in under an hour (by the time he gets going).

In parts it's very fast and furious - the car chases are very 'digitally enhanced' (shall we say) with a lot of special effect that were't particularly necessary, but you would't get the destructon portratyed without it so you have to let that one go.  

It's a little thought provoking regarding the Mercy Justice system, the role AI is playing in our everyday lives and the impact this has, especially if it starts getiting things wrong but that's just topical conversation pieces we all deal with day to day as tech develops around us.

It you liked Phone Booth / Liberty Stands Still then this is that, but taken to a more 'digital' level - definately worth a watch.

(Images used in blog are sourced from IMDB, First Showing.net, Los angeles Times, Digital Spy & We are Movie Geeks)

312, One Battle After Another

I really don't undestand the Oscars sometimes.

I do understand they like to push the envelope and recognise aspects of movies that would normally just pass right over the regular casual viewer and I also know stories that highlight issues or are prominent in current society (either by luck or judgement) seem to do well, but I am still struggling to see the reasons behind this movie winning Best Film at this years Oscars.

Let's break this down - One Battle After Another is clearly defined by two main acts, seperated over a period of 16 years.

Act 1:  We meet a band of 'vigilante rebels' fighting for a cause (of which, to the outside world could easily be seen as terrorism) yet, we are sided with them as we see their plight of rescuing illegal immigrants from horrific compounds along the mexican border.  

Their approach however is violent and reckless - led by Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) and supported by love interest Bob (DiCaprio) as an explosives expert, the whole crew have no bones about rescuing illegals one minute and then commiting armed robbery the next.

Oddly - they aren't the main protagonists - that honour falls to Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) as the Military leader in charge of the immigrant compounds and after coming across Perfidia and her crew, develops a form of unhealthy, demasculated obsession with her as he then works tirelessely to hunt her down.

Perfidia then has a baby (assumingly belonging to Bob) at which point Bob realises their focus has to switch to responsible parenting - but is dismissed by a selfish Perfidia, who's sees the affection and love that Bob once showed her now focussed on their baby girl and basically leaves them both.  She ends up on the run, alone; until Lockjaw catches up with her and after being forced to turn rat on her crew, sees Bob, the baby daughter (Charlene) and other crew members go into hiding - which for most of them, is unsuccessfull.

Act 2 jumps forward 16yrs with a teenage Charlene (played by Chase Infiniti) living a very low-key lifestyle with Bob, now an anxious, paranoid addict and it all kicks off again when Lockjaw resurfaces - on the hunt for Charlene (reasons are made clear in the movie) and it's the new circle of support around Bob & Charlene, including Sensai Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio Del Toro) who has taken up the mantle of housing illegal immigrants, helped out by friends & family and managing to evade the authorities by any means necessary, who rally round a seemingly incapable Bob to get them both safe.

All sounds amazing right, what's not to like?  Well, from start to finish I just didn't get this movie.  I couldn't work out if it was designed to make heroes out of terrorists - or slander the military with their portrayal of Lockjaw and his processes and mannerism's.

From an actors perspective - DiCaprio was as always, the awesome professional - completely engaged in his character and playing a brilliant submissive to Taylors dominant Perfidia, who was as sexy as she was ruthless & selfish.  Del Toro was brilliant as well but it was the performace from Penn as the single minded, unhinged militant protagonist that appeared almost comedic initially, but soon turns to chilling & obsessive with a need for white supremicist validation and in the end, sheer blinded vengeance that for many, will steal the show.

Was he worthy of the Best Supporting Actor gong?  Well, that's down to the Academy - he certainly went all-in on the character but that said, DiCaprio losing out to Michael B. Jordan (for Sinners) is also one I didn't see coming.

The movie just didn't seem to have a point to it.  I didn't know who we were supposed to side with - the Rebellion was mean, vicious and reckless & the Military was overbearing and sadistic.  You want to side with Bob, but he was basically hopeless and you constantly wonder how he managed to bumble though 16yrs of hiding without getting caught so you are left with Charlene, who seems to be a vigilant, stand-up, dedicated and intelligent human being but as you'll find out at the end - the apple never falls far from the tree.

The most annoying thing for me in this movie was the soundtrack.  Don't get me wrong, some will say it's an atmospheric masterpeice and to take a quote from the internet;

"The piano music in One Battle After Another (2025), composed by Jonny Greenwood, is a deliberate, tense score using a "pedal tone" technique - repeating a single note over changing chords. This creates a constant, anxious and rhythmic backdrop designed to feel like a "metronome of suspense, " mirroring the ongoing, generational struggles of the characters"

So - that's nice and specific, but OMG it gets annoying and tedious after about an hour! For me, it ended up being all I could focus on! Like that annoying dripping tap or squeaky floorboard.  It dominated the whole movie and sadly as a result, after a while I'd checked out completely.  Sorry Jonny, I'm sure it's not your fault.

This should have been the type of film I'd rave about.  Regular readers will know from my 300+ blogs preceeding this one, I don't always need a captivating storyline or even a believable plot to fall in love with a film.  This movie is fast paced with tonnes of action, fights, great characters and strong, well-known actors playing them but it was all just too random, chaotic and the piano was so completely overwhelming that all the enjoyment of what it should have been was completely lost.

I have left out loads of plot lines and back-stories in this blog for good reason.  It's close to 3hrs long and I'll be brutally honest, I had to google the ending as after 2hrs 10mins, both me and my wife either lost complete intertest in what was going on - or were so confused by the whole thing we really didn't care what happened to any of the surviving characters.

I saw this at home, on Sky TV as one of the their 'Cinema Premiers' but I genuinly think had we have gone to the cinema - we wouldn't have made it all the way through either and sadly, that's coming from someone who sat though the entire 90 mins of "Movie 43" (Blog: 238)

One Battle After Another is a six time Oscar Winner and includes a a highly acclaimed cast that will probably have fans raving about it for generation to come, just not this one.

(Images used in blog are sourced from Golden Globes, NPR, Arts Knoxville, ScriptShadow, Deadline, Biff Bam Pop!, Fanfare & High on Films)

311, Predator: Badlands

Let me take you back to 1987.  Arnie (in his 80's prime), supported by WWF's Jessie 'The Body' Ventura, Rocky's Carl Weathers & regular Arnie 'sidekick', Bill Duke (too name a few) set off into the Central American Jungle to track down what they believe is a renegade group of insurgents - only to discover an Alien being with one mission - seek and destroy!

38 years and 8 movies later we find ourselves at Predator: Badlands and it's fair to say the franchise has had it's ups and downs.  

Predator 2, Alien vs Predator, Alien vs Predator 2 (Requiem), Predators, The Predator, Prey, Predator - Killer of Killers (Animated) and now Predator: Badlands, it's fair to say that the script writers didn't spend too much time coming up with new titles!  I cant say I have seen all of the offerings but since Prey, I am onboard with where it's seemingly going - offering some more insight into the backstory of the 'Yautja' (the species we refer to as the Predators) and how they come to be wherever in the universe they are, and for whatever reason.

Badlands follows this trend as we meet a young Yautja (Dek) in training, trying to make his way as an elite warrior and about to embark on a 'life or death' mission to trap and bring home a Prey of his choosing which on completion, will see him welcomed into the respected ranks.  Failure?  Well, let's just say this isn't tolerated and only the successfull make the grade.

However, unbeknown to him - Daddy Yautja sees his youngest as the weakest link and has ordered elder brother (Kwei) to kill him which doesn't sit quite right with Kwei and I wont spoil what happens next, but it all kicks off and Dek ends up heading to Genna (the "Death Planet") to try and defeat the un-killable 'Kallisk' to redeem himself in his fathers eyes.

You have probably noticed that I haven't mentioned any actors yet in this most recent offering.  Well, the use of CGI is in abundance here and although there is body suit recognition for Dek, played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (don't worry - I don't know him either) he remains unrecognisable as an actor and fully supported by voice overs and digitalisation.  The same can be said for the other Yautja, so it's left to the inclusion of Ellie Fanning (Maleficent) as the only really recognisable cast member and overall, it's a very small ensemble.

Once we get to Genna where the bulk of this movie takes place (and the prelude up to this point concludes with brief title sequence) it's fair to say the CGI ramps up even more!  From comparable 'Dinosaurs' to killer trees & plants, 'Death Planet' is a very fair assessment of the unfamiliar terrian that Dek is faced with.

Dek meets Thia (Fanning) quite early on following his arrival on Genna - and being a sentient A.I / Android, Thia becomes quite an unexpected ally initially for Dek in his pursuit of the Kallisk.  Thia is on Genna as a research project - knowing no human could survive the environment and having knowledge of the Kallisk, offers assistance to Dek as a 'tool' to help him obtain his trophy!

Fanning - on the whole (or at least half of her) is great.  The character is witty, funny, patronising and knowledgeable and is the perfect sidekick for Dek.  I won't go into too much detail about Tessa (Fannings other role in this) as I dont want to give everything away but she definately the Yang to Thia's Yin (put simply).

The setting is very reminiscent of Arnie's version all those years ago (albeit worlds apart) but the Jungle / Forrest setting is very comparable.  Thia has a language adaptive programme installed in her to speak the the Yautja's language but remain understandable to us, but you do have to deal with Dek's dialoguie in subtitles, although Dek's lines are short and defined - meaning it's not that hard to keep up with whats going on.

We get an insight into Thia's backstory too and you can't help but get flashbacks of the sort of 'Chewbacca / C3PO' relationship between our resiliant duo as they traverse through the environment - which makes more sense when you watch the movie.

That's not the only Star Wars comparative however as a lot of the monsters and lifeforms on Genna have a Star Wars feel about them - some playfull, some horrific but they are in abundance and almost every scene is either a 'run for your life' or 'fight to the death' moment.

The special effects are well done - Ellie Fanning is great and the story has pace and purpose so for me, all in all it's a bit of a winner!  

It doesn't have the rawness of Prey - or the basic survival instincts of Arnie's Predator, but I think it's a worthy addition to the franchise and if you likes some of its predecessors - definately one to watch.

(Images used in blog are sourced from Wikipedia, Los Angeles Times, Empire, Film Stories, The Times, Collider & Vanyaland)

   

310, Melania

Okay Amazon Prime - Lets get the bad bits out the way first.  

IMDB have ranked this 1.4 Stars (One of the 5 lowest ranked films on the platform) & Rotten Tomatoes gave it a critics score of just 7% (although it has an audience rating of 99%!)

Openly - it's been slammed as an egotystical self portrayal of first world problems that only seem to affect the top 0.0001% of the population and the whole concept was never really going to allow the promise of a 'tell all' behind the scenes documentary of what life is truly like for the wife of President Trump, especially in the 20 days leading up to his 2nd term as US President.  So what actually is 'Melania' - if it's not an 'access all areas' documentary?

Well - surprisingly enough - I found it to be quite interesteing.

Lets just agree that it's a very manicured and scripted 90 minutes of self produced positivity from Melania's perspective.  The doting Wife, Daugher, Mother and the orchestrator of home design and public event planning which does shed some insight into some of the 'behind the scenes' goings on of the innaugural dinner and the pre-empt to life (once more) in the White House.

Trump himself appears fleetingly - it feels honest, and respectful but with that said, there are a handfull of funny and witty quips from Melania 'behind the camera' that do raise a smile, especially with how distanced she sounds on some of the recorded phone calls with him and pretty much her dismissal of his polling successes but on the whole, Melania is portrayed as a very supportive First Lady, albeit very much in control of her own schedule.

We do see (or, what we are led to believe) is the inside of Melania's apartment within Trump Tower for a dress fitting, which is where we meet some of the ensemble cast - namely her designer / dresser (Herve Pierre) who does steal each scene he's in as well as the event coordinator (David Monn) who is behind some of the events Melania is working on.  The standout performance though is the hand made dress, presented by Herve that is nothing short of knockout and you do get a small glimpse of the 'fashionista' side of Melania - almost forgotton given her current standing.

There are filmed interviews with potential new 'staffers' - Invitation choosing, table dressings meetings and Art selection discussions for the White House that pad out the films duration but it really is all about Melania.  There are no sit down 'one to one' moments like you see in Drive to Survive and everything is shot pretty much in 3rd person, either on the move or on location with lots of voiceovers and very little straight to camera conversations.  There are lots of thoughtfull 'stares' set to patriotic soundtracks as this plane lands or that car pulls away and even the Secret Service guys get some face time, which I thought was a big 'no no' but hey, it's a new world!

We get to see inside the Capitol in footage that wouldn't have made the CNN Presidential coverage and if anything, this documentary is focussed on showing the indiviuality of the returning First Lady and the work she is doing towards numerous charities, much more than being just the wife of a President.

You don't get the open honesty and realism of let's say - 'Clarksons Farm' and if you honestly thought you would hear the first Lady slagging off her Husbands antics, then you are very much mistaken.

Okay - I'll agree with the critics that this isn't going to win any Documentary awards - but if Melania herself is of interest you, then this will give a voice to someone who on 'TV' is always two steps behind and pretty much unheard - allowing some small insight to life outside of being  'Mrs Trump' and highlights her own passions, challenges and steps to secure her and Baron's future (albeit financially, I'm sure they'll be okay) as the years tick by.

(Images used in blog are sourced from Wikipedia, Vanity Fair, Yahoo, New york Times, Common Sense Media & USA Today)

309, War Machine

Netflix have done it again! 

As a pretty big Alan Richardson fan, seeing him take the lead in a straight to Netflix movie always makes me smile.  Having watched him as far back as Hunger Games and even as Raphael in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movies (as well as being a phenominal Jack Reacher of course!) means that for me, his sheer on-screen presence is very reminiscent of old Arnie movies -  but with better acting!  

War Machine is no different.  If you were to take the premise of Predator meets BattleShip you cant go far wrong - the Battleship reference?  Well, think training excercise goes awry as alien tech invades pre-planned war games and as for Predator, Man vs Machine using environment and skill to bring down said Alien foe.  It's a greast idea.

The set up is awesome too.  A fleeting initial presence from Jai Courtney as the younger brother - hell bent on convincing Richardson (as the older sibling) to apply for Army Ranger Training during a middle-eastern posting where sadly, things dont go as planned for either of them but following a tragedy, spurs on Richardson to complete his brothers dream of becoming a Ranger and as a result of the harrowing backstory - you are instantly behind Richardson, backing him 100% to succeed.

Basic Training is brutal - Richardson as the lonely soldier, distances himself from his camp mates which brings with it it's own level of trials and challenges, but see's hime stand out as the older, experienced ring leader and puts him on a pedestal that is put to the ultimate test after being thrown into the final 'Hell March' excercise, where things go badly wrong and the squad is faced with a force 'not of this world' and it takes all they have to work together and bring down this seemingly unbeatable force.

I think before you get into this - knowing it's an 'Alien / Sci-Fi' movie isn't too much of a spoiler alert.  Either way, it certainly doesn't take anything away from the realism of the whole movie.  The effects, both special and actual are outstanding.  It's a brutal and graphic war movie that as well as being visually impressive, manages to also hone in on individuals special circumstances without even giving them character names (most are referred too as their number - Richardson himself credited as '81') and this somehow manages to support the commaradory, without anything getting too personal which was cleverly written.

There are some grerat cameos as well - Jai Courtney (Suicide Squad) as mentioned before is in a very small role but does a good job - as do Dennis Quaid as Army Sgt Major Sheridan and Esai Morales (Gabriel in the more recent Mission Impossible movies) as Sgt Torres.

81's Team mates to me (and apologies to them) were all pretty unrecogniseable but I am sure have been in things I've seen but this movie really is all about Alan Richardson.  He is in every scene, has most of the dialogue and barrels through the 106 minutes with personality, emotion, dedication to the cause and a sheer unwillingness to stay down!  There are parts that certainly aren't for the faint hearted - the Alien machine itself kills without remorse and uses mostly rockets and laser guided missiles in very close proximity to exterminate it's prey - meaning the sad recipients of the brutal attacks are left in an awful mess at the end of it all.

The movie ends with the wider global impact of the invasion and does explain why the Army didn't step in to help this defenseless band of brothers and also opens up a potential story line for a sequel, but I'd be surprised if it sees the light of day.

War Machine is stand out piece of visual brilliance with some great acting and even better effects and for me, further secures Richardson as a a great leading actor - but also, following movies such as Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare & and Fast X, also shows him playing well with others and with 8 episodes of the new 'Jack Reacher' season out later this year, means we wont have to wait long to see him back at what he does best.

Who survives?  Well, I won't completely spoil the ending, but let's just say - don't get too attached to the rest of the Squad!

Enjoy!

(Images used in blog are sourced from ScriptShadow, Wikipedia, Empire, Bloody Disgusting, Flickering Myth & Hyperbeast)

308, Tornado

I'm still playing catch-up to a few back-end 2025 releases but hopefully the last is Tornado, An Amazon Prime offering that on the poster promises "A Lean and Nasty, Gripping Thriller' and 'Exhilarating Samurai Action' - but sadly for me, Tornado fails on both counts.

Tornado is the name given to our title character - played by Japanese Model & Songwriter, Mitsuki Kimura (aka Koki) who along with her Father / Mentor, Fujin (Takehiro Hira - Captain America / Rental Family) make up part of a travelling circus as Pupeteers, touring their way through the villages and hamlets of 1700's Britain when their paths cross with a vicious gang of robbers - laden with gold from a recent heist.

Stopping for a break and deciding to watch the show, a young boy manages to steal the gold from the intrigued theives but is spotted by Tornado who then manages to take the gold for herself and hide it, which in turn, promps a man-hunt by the gang to reclaim their take and kill anyone who gets in their way.

That's about the movie - from then on it's just a 'back and forth' chase across moors and woodland with a few brief encounters along the way, inluding a stately home hideout and the base-camp of their traveling circus but in the end - this is basically down to the Gang, led by Sugarman (Tim Roth) versus Tornado.

You'd easily be fooled into watching this by the cast alone - Roth, a hero in my eyes for 'Lie to Me' and movies such as 'Pulp Fiction and 'Reservoir Dogs' stands alongside Son, Little Sugar (Jack Lowden - Slow Horses) and familar face Rory McCann playing the role of Kitten, which - after being The Hound in Game of Thrones, did make me chuckle.  

The rest of the Gang was pretty unknown to me albeit I did initially mistake Squid Lips for Alfie Allen - but alas it wasn't.  Nevermind - throw in some cameos from Joanne Whalley (ex Kilmer), known for Scandal / Willow & a fleeting 'blink and you'll miss it' part for TV regular, Alex Macqueen then all in all it was still a very recognisable cast.

Sadly, the pace is slow and somehow manages to make 90 minutes feel like 3hrs but the locations are well thought out - drawing you into a cold and menacing landscape with the chase scenes - albeit mostly on foot keeping the drama all in close proximity.  As for a Samurai movie - well, you need to wait until the last 20 minutes or so to get a feel for that but with a trained, young Japanese wannabe warrior taking on a bunch of old, beaten up, tired English ruffians, let's just say, Mortal Kombat - it is not.

Some of the effects towards the end do compare well with older Samurai movies, the blood spurting and limb removal is all very playfull but too much of it happens all too quickly, and in all honesty - the Gang doesn't really put up much of a fight once they are on the back foot which makes for a pretty straightforward and predictable ending.

They have tried to get momentum going by starting mid-way though the movie, then offering some flashbacks to get you up to speed before the final act but it doesn't really add to the drama.  Lowden plays this like he is just filling time until the next Slow Horses Season and Roth comes across like he is just after another paycheck.  It's a real shame becuase with such a great cast - and Koki stepping out as a potential 'next big thing' I'd have really liked a little more.

Its drawn out - slow, and although well shot and to some extent, well acted - it just doen't push any excitement buttons so no 'highly recommended' comments coming from me this time but, as always; If seeing a bunch of well known TV actors get together for a foot chase through the moors with some swordplay at the end floats your boat, then this has you written all over it.

(Images used in blog are sourced from IMDB, The Guardian, Deadline, The New York Times, High on Films & Deep Focus Review)