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.