My guide to most of the new Movie and TV releases.
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Easy!
The Running Man (circa 1987) featuring the larger than life Arnold Schwarzenegger was, and probably still is one my go-to favourite films. Easily watchable - great characterisations and a cracking plot idea - I remember seeing this 18 cert film way before I was supposed too, and have loved it ever since.
So when they announced a re-make I was excited but also hesitant, how would they do this - how good could it be with modern effects and staging and would it take over from the original in my mind. Well, Sadly - it's not really worked out that way for me.
Yes they kept a few of the main characters - Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick / Chad Powers) plays Ben Richards - but instead of a betrayed law enforcement officer running for his freedom, he plays a desperate dad, needing money for medication for his daughter. He's a loving and doting husband and father, as well as a very very angry man - sometimes overly so.
Dan (not Damon) Killian returns in the form of Josh Brolin but instead of the upfront egotistical showman, brilliantly portrayed by Richard Dawson in the original - this version of Killian is more a sneaky back-room Exec-Producer instead of the up-front headliner. There is a nice nod to Arnie, appearing on banknotes as the assumed American President, but other than that - the original characters come to an end.
The Running Man show is still comparable, but instead of a game zone / gladiatorial arena that sees episodes start and end in the same night - this time, Runners have 30 days to stay alive with 'Hunters' (and the public) hot on their tail - able to take them down anytime / anywhere and all filmed by hovering robot-cams. Win the show, and by 'Win' I mean stay alive for the duration - then $1B is the prize - a tidy sum for a desperate man.
I wont go into to much detail about how Richards ends up on the show etc as that is all explained quite early on, but I think the biggest disappointment for me was the replacement of the Stalkers with the new, Hunters.
The Stalkers are what made the original so good. Even now - Dynamo, Buzz-Saw, Captain Freedom, Fireball and Sub-Zero were all totally awesome. Loved by the studio audience in a "The Price is Right" style gameshow - Killian's engagement with them, the audience and the Runners was a joy and never got old, even after watching it dozens of times.
The new Hunters are just a bunch of balaclava clad hit-men, with no real personality or gimmicks to differentiate them and you didn't really care for any of them which did dilute the pressure Richards is faced with, in what seems a bit more of a 'relaxed' chase - albeit he is always required to be on his guard.
The original doesn't let up - from the prison break, to Richard's capture and entrance into the show - his pairing with Weiss and Laughlin, witty banter with Killian, the Shows 'lame' production team, battling the stalkers - the hidden revolution going on behind closed doors (with Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac fame), even managing to meet and get romantic with one of his running mates (we all loved Maria Conchita Alonso in that yellow spandex suit!), Arnie and the original just gave us so much more.
But this blog isn't about that one - and the new one does have some good bits to discuss. Michael Cera plays a helpful contact / aide to Richards and when discovered - his 'Home Alone' style house traps do add a few giggles, more for Cera than the audience but it's a fast paced 15 minutes that should have gone on longer than it did.
Another highlight was Alpine's new A290 EV that makes a star appearance towards then end of the movie & for a electric mini-hatchback, looks totally awesome!
All in all, as a standalone movie I suppose it's okay - the action (when it happens) is good, as are the fight sequences and Powell is a pretty decent headliner. The end seemingly comes out of nowhere - with almost no 'heroic return' to the studio for Richards to get revenge to the extent you saw in 87' at least - but it's there in part.
As a remake I think it's a poor attempt. I can see they probably didn't want to make it too similar - but the premise of the game itself was diluted too much for me and they lost me with the Hunters.
Arnie famously used his "I'll be Back" line in his version as Killian see's him off into the arena - and historically, this line never get's a comeback but Killian's quip of "only in a re-run" was the one time someone seemingly got a one up on him.
Well, if this was the re-run - I'll give it a miss. Sometimes re-makes work; The re-imagined He-Man: Masters of the Universe (Blog #316) was fantastic, it's just a shame this was the complete opposite.
A 'J-Lo' Rom-Com normally leaves little to the imagination. Girl meets guy - girl / guy fall for each other - throw in plenty of reasons for them not to be together, issues overcome - happy ending. In fact, that's not just J-Lo Rom-Com's - that's all Rom-Com's.
But, what happens if you add Roy Kent as the male interest with his totally watchable persona and colourful language - mixed in with J-Lo's ever adorable charms - is it any better?
Well, Office Romance which is new to Netflix is definitely a funny and watchable romp through a frowned upon blossoming Office Romance (clue is in the title!) between airline President & CEO Jennifer Lopez and in-house lawyer Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent in Ted Lasso).
Thrown together, due to the regular in-house lawyer and company stalwart Peter Vance played by Bradley Whitford (Handmaids Tale / The West Wing) being unavailable - characters Jackie and Daniel embark on a will they / wont they journey, against all in-house staff fraternisation 'HR' rules to try and contain their lust for one another - reaching high's and then low's that see us trundle through just under 2hrs hours of adorable giggles, colourful language (party down to Brett) and culminating with a pretty obvious ending.
Written by Goldstein himself - he really is playing the Roy Kent role to the extreme - very much typecast (I'm afraid to say) - the only real difference here was that Kent's Footie Kit was replaced with Blanchflower's well tailored Suit and although a little more polite and well spoken - it's still Roy Kent, C* Bombs and all.
There is quite a decent backstory here for most of the cast, Cruz, after taking over the family named airline 'Air Cruz', set up by her father (Captain Jack) has made it a global power and an extremely profitable brand - but there are board members who want her out - without any real explanation, that fuel her desire to succeed and in the shadow of her father, continues on trying to make her own name in the industry mean as much as her fathers.
There is the ever-present Executive Assistant Sydney (Betty Gilpin) who is hilarious as the all-knowing and extremely pregnant voice of reason to Cruz as well as a host of internal staff (Admin / HR) that all come with their little quips and quirks but the other notable presence is that of Goldstein's sister - played by Jodie Whittaker (Broadchurch / Doctor Who) who is Daniel Blanchflower's reason for being in America - to support his incarcerated sibling, banged up (admittedly) for murder is a great little distraction to the main plotline.
Yes it's predictable but remains funny at the same time and with some great 'off-screen' press junket's to boot, the on-screen chemistry between Lopez and Goldstein is actually totally cute and adorable.
Friday night in with your partner? This is a real winner.
Between 1983-1985, as a mere 7yr old with just 4 TV channels, no mobiles or online gaming, and growing up in a world very isolated in comparison to what kids are having to deal with today allowed us the opportunity to really play and engage with toys that didn't speak for themselves and needed us to create content and stories to bring what we had to life.
For me - that was heavily focussed on 4 things. Lego, Transformers, Mask & He-Man. Although I am over it now, seeing Transformers get a proper live-action movie makeover in 2007 did fill me with excitement at the time as all of these childhood characters I had watched in cartoon form & played with in plastic form were now front and centre on the big screen and it was great. Even the Lego movie to some extent was a joy and as for Mask (much lesser known but still very viable for a movie franchise) I'm still waiting!
Well, now it's He-Man's turn and okay, before you all complain - yes, I am fully aware this isn't the first He-Man / Masters Live Action movie.
2yrs after the original cartoon ended in 1987, Dolph Lundgren donned the furry hot pants and raised his sword with Frank Langella portraying a pretty scary Skeletor but my biggest gripe was it was set in America - not the land of Eternia. A young Courtney Cox was the earth heroine along with her boyfriend who had to help the Masters find the 'key' to get home - and that was it.
It was clunky - camp (not as camp as the cartoon) and just lacked the huge host of characters and backdrops the cartoon presented. It did have Man-at-Arms, Teela & Gwildor for the good-guys and Evil-Lyn, Blade, Saurod & Beastman for the bad, but there was no Battle-Cat (Cringer), no transformation (or back story) of Prince Adam having He-Man as his 'alter-ego' and so many other heroes & villains were missing. Sadly, it very quickly fell into the bargain bin of entertainment with no sequels even considered.
In a way I'm glad - with technology as it was, expecting to see a believable Eternia in the 80's could have looked quite 'Tron'-esq, but they could have gone down the Star Wars route which would have been better - as would seeing a cowardly green tiger becoming the mighty Battle-Cat and even the transformation of He-Man himself would have more resembled Bill Bixby's morph into Lou Ferrigno's Incredible Hulk in the 1977 TV series so perhaps although at the time it would have been cool - from a nostalgic perspective, it would have ruined the fantasy so at least they didn't do a completely terrible job of messing up my childhood memories!
However - 2026 is a whole new ball game and waiting 40yrs for this re-imaging to take place is probably not a bad idea as today's CGI can allow for a much more in-depth and believable realm - and OMG did they do it justice!
Firstly - let's talk Eternia. Its stunning - Castle GraySkull is epic as is Snake Mountain and when the movie opens with Prince Adam as a young child, its colourful - scary, desolate - bustling - it's Asgard meets Coruscant and they've done it brilliantly.
The movie is an origin story - Skeletor attacks Eterno (Eternia's Capital) with such shock and awe that his army catches everyone off guard and in a last ditch escape effort - Adam's parent see him off through a multi-dimensional portal, along with the Sword of Power to Earth - where after initially losing the sword during the journey - spends the next 15 years trying to look for it to go home.
Adult Adam is a bit of a dolt - working in HR, he is clearly frustrated about losing the sword so when he gets a lead on it, he drops everything (much to his line managers disgust) to get himself back home.
When he does - its a very different Eternia he is faced with under Skeletor's reign but his return prompts a gathering of his childhood heroes who band together to bring down Skeletor's evil horde and bring peace back to Eternia.
As for the plot - that's all you're getting. There is so much more I could write and I could go on for ages about the little nuances and easter eggs that are linked back to the cartoon and even the 80's Dolph Lundgren imagining with Dolph himself making a quick cameo but there are so many more moments to keep an eye out, if you know what you are looking for.
The cast is excellent - He-Man himself, Galitzine (The Idea of You / Cinderella) is brilliant, as are Idris Elba and Camilla Mendes as father / daughter combo Man-At-Arms and Teela. Other returning characters are Ram Man, Fisto, Mekaneck & Roboto - each brilliantly represented and there is a running joke about these names and how bad they actually are given how Adam refers to them growing up on Earth. Look out for plenty of adult innuendoes that will have the older viewers cracking up without the younger kids being aware to what's going on!
However - for me, the heroes are no match for the brilliant CGI and characterisation of the baddies. Trap Jaw, Spikor, Beat Man, Evil-Lyn and Tri-Klops just to name a few are so well conceived and designed that they really do steal the show but the standout performance (and I can't believe I am saying this out loud) is Jared Leto as Skeletor himself.
Leto has played an absolute blinder - he has not only captured the evil vengefulness of the 80's cartoon but also the mannerisms and comedy of Skeletor to perfection. You will laugh out loud with some of the dialogue and you cant wish for a more likeable villain than Skeletor - you will not be disappointed.
For me - it could have done with a little more of Battle-Cat, and characters such as Mer-Man make a single frame 'blink and you'll miss it' appearances but this just means the franchise still has plenty of momentum, something teed up in the post credit scene - they will be back!
For those who remember the cartoons always ending with Orko giving a morale to the story / episode then this also hasn't been forgotten (if you hang around at the end) and, without trying to detail any spoilers; I do hope they find a way to bring Leto's Skeletor back for a 2nd outing!
It was everything I wanted it to be. It bought back so many childhood memories (in a positive way) and although there was plenty of nostalgia and throwbacks for me, it also completely engaged our 12 year old and easily welcomed in a new army of fans - as I am sure Transformers did when it's first live action movie released almost 20 years ago.
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.
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.
