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Black Mirror - Season 2
8.8
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TV Season
S2, Ep1 - Released 11 Feb. 2013 Title: Be Right Back Description: After learning about a new...
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Tag (2018) in Movies
Jul 8, 2019
When you hear about a movie being based on a true story, especially this film, the first thing you ask yourself, “Wait a second, this actually happened in real life?” This movie is about 5 lifelong friends who have been playing the kids’ game Tag for 30 years. Every year during the month of May, it’s no holds barred attempt at tagging each other.
The movie starts out with Hoagie (Ed Helms) trying to procure a janitor job at his friend Callahan’s (Jon Hamm) company for the sole purpose of the game. This year, Hoagie is on a dire mission to tag Jerry (Jeremy Renner), who has never been tagged. After heading out to tag Chilli (Jake Johnson), and Sable (Hannibal Burress), the guys find out they were not invited to Jerry’s wedding mainly because he didn’t want to get tagged.
Jerry has spent decades calculating every move and hidden attempts and is hellbent on never being tagged. You can pretty much guess what ensues once the gang arrives to the wedding. There is an exorbitant amount of slapstick humor in this film, that it masks the absolute absurdity of adults playing tag. There isn’t very much substance to this movie’s storyline. It’s pretty much vulgar humor, physical antics, and everything you’ve wanted in a film about adults playing a kids game. If you’re looking to spend 2 hours laughing immensely at a movie that will most likely win a Razzie, go see this one.
You’ll think it’s unbelievably ridiculous, you can’t help but love it!
The movie starts out with Hoagie (Ed Helms) trying to procure a janitor job at his friend Callahan’s (Jon Hamm) company for the sole purpose of the game. This year, Hoagie is on a dire mission to tag Jerry (Jeremy Renner), who has never been tagged. After heading out to tag Chilli (Jake Johnson), and Sable (Hannibal Burress), the guys find out they were not invited to Jerry’s wedding mainly because he didn’t want to get tagged.
Jerry has spent decades calculating every move and hidden attempts and is hellbent on never being tagged. You can pretty much guess what ensues once the gang arrives to the wedding. There is an exorbitant amount of slapstick humor in this film, that it masks the absolute absurdity of adults playing tag. There isn’t very much substance to this movie’s storyline. It’s pretty much vulgar humor, physical antics, and everything you’ve wanted in a film about adults playing a kids game. If you’re looking to spend 2 hours laughing immensely at a movie that will most likely win a Razzie, go see this one.
You’ll think it’s unbelievably ridiculous, you can’t help but love it!
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Tag (2018) in Movies
Jul 3, 2018
An interesting story, badly told
I feel like whenever I review a comedy film I need to give a warning - I have a very discerning sense of humour and mainstream comedies never really appeal. I can usually tell in advance if I'm going to like something or not, so take my reviews with a pinch of salt?
My biggest issue with this film is that it takes a fun and interesting true story and turns it into a pretty dull and unfunny movie. I can count on one hand the amount of times I laughed during this. The only people to come out of this unscathed are Hannibal Buress (the best and funniest lines) and Jeremy Renner (who looks like he's having the time of his life). Even Jon Hamm who I've loved since his Black Mirror episode couldn't make this any better. And the rest of the cast? Well the female characters are either vastly underused (Rashida Jones), pointless (Annabelle Wallis) or just plain awful (Isla Fisher). And why does Ed Helms play virtually the same character in everything he's in?! And he doesn't even do it well!
The story itself tries to hard to be both funny and heart warming, sombre and sentimental and doesn't succeed in any of these. Everything is just a bit out of place. The best bit was watching the guys from the real life story in the clips before the end credits.
Personally I think this film could've been so much better. I actually think a Jackass style prank film around tag would've been a lot funnier instead of this Hollywood-ised version.
My biggest issue with this film is that it takes a fun and interesting true story and turns it into a pretty dull and unfunny movie. I can count on one hand the amount of times I laughed during this. The only people to come out of this unscathed are Hannibal Buress (the best and funniest lines) and Jeremy Renner (who looks like he's having the time of his life). Even Jon Hamm who I've loved since his Black Mirror episode couldn't make this any better. And the rest of the cast? Well the female characters are either vastly underused (Rashida Jones), pointless (Annabelle Wallis) or just plain awful (Isla Fisher). And why does Ed Helms play virtually the same character in everything he's in?! And he doesn't even do it well!
The story itself tries to hard to be both funny and heart warming, sombre and sentimental and doesn't succeed in any of these. Everything is just a bit out of place. The best bit was watching the guys from the real life story in the clips before the end credits.
Personally I think this film could've been so much better. I actually think a Jackass style prank film around tag would've been a lot funnier instead of this Hollywood-ised version.
Black Mirror - Season 3
8.7
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TV Season
Black Mirror is a British science fictiontelevision anthology series created by Charlie...
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Good Omens in TV
Aug 25, 2019
Could’ve been better
I love Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, but yet I’ve never read Good Omens. The book is next on my to read list, but I thought I’d give the show a go first and in the main, I did enjoy it.
The best thing about this show is by far the interactions between Aziraphale and Crowley, and the performances of Michael Sheen and David Tennant. They’re so much fun and this is where virtually all of the laughs in this show come from. They’re a great pairing, even if they are a little over the top at times, and my favourite episode by far was the one that showed their interactions over the ages. It’s the rest of the plot that I feel let’s this show down a little bit. There are some wonderful cameos from a whole host of stars, and Jon Hamm was great if a little underused. I would’ve loved to have seen more of him. However I really wish they hadn’t cast Jack Whitehall, I don’t get his appeal as he’s an horrendous actor and rather irritating.
The problem though is that despite this show being about the Antichrist and the end of the world, the ending itself is rather lacklustre and whilst everyone wants to stop (or start) the end of the world, the urgency and tension and terror is all too lacking. I get that this is meant to be humorous, but it can still be funny and threatening in the same episode. I actually think they could’ve done without the whole end of the world thing and just had buddy type show with Aziraphale and Crowley that would’ve been just as or even more entertaining. I’m intrigued now to see how this plays out in the book and if it works better.
The best thing about this show is by far the interactions between Aziraphale and Crowley, and the performances of Michael Sheen and David Tennant. They’re so much fun and this is where virtually all of the laughs in this show come from. They’re a great pairing, even if they are a little over the top at times, and my favourite episode by far was the one that showed their interactions over the ages. It’s the rest of the plot that I feel let’s this show down a little bit. There are some wonderful cameos from a whole host of stars, and Jon Hamm was great if a little underused. I would’ve loved to have seen more of him. However I really wish they hadn’t cast Jack Whitehall, I don’t get his appeal as he’s an horrendous actor and rather irritating.
The problem though is that despite this show being about the Antichrist and the end of the world, the ending itself is rather lacklustre and whilst everyone wants to stop (or start) the end of the world, the urgency and tension and terror is all too lacking. I get that this is meant to be humorous, but it can still be funny and threatening in the same episode. I actually think they could’ve done without the whole end of the world thing and just had buddy type show with Aziraphale and Crowley that would’ve been just as or even more entertaining. I’m intrigued now to see how this plays out in the book and if it works better.
Difficult Men: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad
9.0
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Book
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a wave of TV shows, first on premium cable channels like HBO and...
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Richard Jewell (2019) in Movies
Nov 7, 2020
An interesting watch
Richard Jewell follows the story of a security guard at the 1996 Olympics who saves many lives after discovering a bomb, yet later finds himself as the main suspect in the ensuing FBI investigation.
This is yet another true story I know nothing about, so for me I found this to be quite an interesting watch to discover what happened. To be honest I was almost in disbelief at times to see how Richard was treated by law enforcement and whilst I know some artistic license is always used, it’s still crazy what they did to him! The story is fascinating, although I do think the film drags this out a bit at a run time of well over 2 hours.
That said, there are some good performances in this namely from Paul Walter Hauser (who was great in I, Tonya too), Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates. The relationship between Richard and Rockwell’s character Watson is particularly heartwarming and provides a lot of the funnier aspects of the film and actually proves to be the best thing about this. Sadly there are some who have fared less well - Jon Hamm and Olivia Wilde’s seem like your typical cliched FBI and reported characters respectively, and while they both put in good performances, the characters let them down.
What confused me the most about this film was the tone. It felt like it should be a rather tense suspense filled drama (similar to say Patriots Day) but instead it felt too happy or lighthearted to be serious, which considering the subject matter is rather odd. And I think this impacted on how much I liked this. It also didn’t help that they completely gloss over who the real bomber actually was right at the end, and this felt rather abrupt and frustrating considering the length of time the film spends showing them investigating Richard! Overall this is an enjoyable interesting film but falls short of being anything spectacular.
This is yet another true story I know nothing about, so for me I found this to be quite an interesting watch to discover what happened. To be honest I was almost in disbelief at times to see how Richard was treated by law enforcement and whilst I know some artistic license is always used, it’s still crazy what they did to him! The story is fascinating, although I do think the film drags this out a bit at a run time of well over 2 hours.
That said, there are some good performances in this namely from Paul Walter Hauser (who was great in I, Tonya too), Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates. The relationship between Richard and Rockwell’s character Watson is particularly heartwarming and provides a lot of the funnier aspects of the film and actually proves to be the best thing about this. Sadly there are some who have fared less well - Jon Hamm and Olivia Wilde’s seem like your typical cliched FBI and reported characters respectively, and while they both put in good performances, the characters let them down.
What confused me the most about this film was the tone. It felt like it should be a rather tense suspense filled drama (similar to say Patriots Day) but instead it felt too happy or lighthearted to be serious, which considering the subject matter is rather odd. And I think this impacted on how much I liked this. It also didn’t help that they completely gloss over who the real bomber actually was right at the end, and this felt rather abrupt and frustrating considering the length of time the film spends showing them investigating Richard! Overall this is an enjoyable interesting film but falls short of being anything spectacular.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Lucy in the Sky (2019) in Movies
Mar 9, 2020
Natalie Portman and Jon Hamm together (1 more)
Interesting premise
Mind. Blown - A thoughtful film that's hard to like.
Natalie Portman plays the eponymous Lucy Cola, a NASA astronaut who has achieved her ambition of reaching space and experienced the enormity of the universe first hand. Her mind is officially blown. Such that, on returning to earth, nothing seems ‘enough’ any more. Her family; her comfortable home; her life.
She becomes desperate to be selected for the next program… to get that literal) ‘high’ all over again. So desperate that her mind and morals burn up on trying to re-enter.
You look at the career choices of Natalie Portman, and they have often revolved around cool and detached woman: “Black Swan” and “Jackie” for example. Here, looking incredibly fit and strong (as you would expect from an astronaut at the peak of her powers) , she again plays something of an ice queen. She is – of course – brilliant at it.
Starring with her here is the ever-watchable Jon Hamm as fellow astronaut Mark Goodwin, the omni-present – at the moment – Zazie Beetz as a fellow program competitor and Dan Stevens (from “Downton”) as her exasperated colleague and husband Drew. (Stevens was COMPLETELY UNRECOGNISABLE to me in this movie…. just like in “Beauty and the Beast“! To the extent that I had to wind back the film from the end-titles after seeing his name to check!).
This was always a film that was going to struggle to identify its audience. Yes, it starts in space, but it is in NO WAY a “Sci-Fi” movie (which is one of its tags on IMDB. Shameful!). This is a drama about a woman progressively losing her grip on reality: almost a PTSD movie, but without the “S” being “T” in the normal sense of things.
Lucy’s ‘other-worldliness’ is reflected in the aspect ratio of the movie, which varies from a claustrophobic ‘old-TV’ format 4:3 ratio to a ratio bordering on ‘Cinemascope’. (This makes for a very challenging watch on a small airline TV screen, as I was doing!). It’s a motif that’s obviously meant to reflect Lucy’s drifting grip on reality. But it eventually gets irritating…. I had the sense that first-time feature director Noah Hawley was ‘trying too hard’ for something quirky and different.
Far more successful is a ‘green-screened’ trippy sequence seeing Lucy being transported to a hospital bedside to the rendition of The Beatles iconic song, performed by Lucy Hannigan (listen here). It’s dreamlike and unsettling. In fact, one of the high-spots of the movie for me was Jeff Russo‘s score, which I have made a mental note to make sure to listen to again on Spotify. It’s more electronica than orchestral but matches the mood of the film really well.
But, here’s the thing. I didn’t enjoy it. The problem is (and no spoilers here) that Portman’s Lucy is such a downright BITCH that it is impossible to warm to her as the movie’s star. There is, in fact, only one of the characters that you really side with, and she’s the one doing the most damage to them.
This shouldn’t be a problem to the story, since the film is reflecting (loosely) true events: the astronauts in question were Lisa Nowak and William Oefelein. And there are lots of ‘feel-bad’ films about mental illness (“One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, for example) that stand on their own merits. But this one just seemed to be a fairly miserable and destructive story that didn’t have enough of a payoff – either positive or negative – to merit the journey.
This was disappointing, since after hearing the premise, I’d been looking forward to this one.
For those who love movies, and the way movies are structured, it is an interesting watch. But it is not by any stretch an entertaining mainstream movie. The director Noah Hawley will need to do better in the “commercially-appealing” stakes for his next film: since he’s been (rather surprisingly) given the helm for the sequel to “Star Trek: Beyond“.
(For the full graphical review, check out the review on One Mann's Movies here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2020/03/09/one-manns-movies-dvd-review-lucy-in-the-sky-2019/ ).
She becomes desperate to be selected for the next program… to get that literal) ‘high’ all over again. So desperate that her mind and morals burn up on trying to re-enter.
You look at the career choices of Natalie Portman, and they have often revolved around cool and detached woman: “Black Swan” and “Jackie” for example. Here, looking incredibly fit and strong (as you would expect from an astronaut at the peak of her powers) , she again plays something of an ice queen. She is – of course – brilliant at it.
Starring with her here is the ever-watchable Jon Hamm as fellow astronaut Mark Goodwin, the omni-present – at the moment – Zazie Beetz as a fellow program competitor and Dan Stevens (from “Downton”) as her exasperated colleague and husband Drew. (Stevens was COMPLETELY UNRECOGNISABLE to me in this movie…. just like in “Beauty and the Beast“! To the extent that I had to wind back the film from the end-titles after seeing his name to check!).
This was always a film that was going to struggle to identify its audience. Yes, it starts in space, but it is in NO WAY a “Sci-Fi” movie (which is one of its tags on IMDB. Shameful!). This is a drama about a woman progressively losing her grip on reality: almost a PTSD movie, but without the “S” being “T” in the normal sense of things.
Lucy’s ‘other-worldliness’ is reflected in the aspect ratio of the movie, which varies from a claustrophobic ‘old-TV’ format 4:3 ratio to a ratio bordering on ‘Cinemascope’. (This makes for a very challenging watch on a small airline TV screen, as I was doing!). It’s a motif that’s obviously meant to reflect Lucy’s drifting grip on reality. But it eventually gets irritating…. I had the sense that first-time feature director Noah Hawley was ‘trying too hard’ for something quirky and different.
Far more successful is a ‘green-screened’ trippy sequence seeing Lucy being transported to a hospital bedside to the rendition of The Beatles iconic song, performed by Lucy Hannigan (listen here). It’s dreamlike and unsettling. In fact, one of the high-spots of the movie for me was Jeff Russo‘s score, which I have made a mental note to make sure to listen to again on Spotify. It’s more electronica than orchestral but matches the mood of the film really well.
But, here’s the thing. I didn’t enjoy it. The problem is (and no spoilers here) that Portman’s Lucy is such a downright BITCH that it is impossible to warm to her as the movie’s star. There is, in fact, only one of the characters that you really side with, and she’s the one doing the most damage to them.
This shouldn’t be a problem to the story, since the film is reflecting (loosely) true events: the astronauts in question were Lisa Nowak and William Oefelein. And there are lots of ‘feel-bad’ films about mental illness (“One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, for example) that stand on their own merits. But this one just seemed to be a fairly miserable and destructive story that didn’t have enough of a payoff – either positive or negative – to merit the journey.
This was disappointing, since after hearing the premise, I’d been looking forward to this one.
For those who love movies, and the way movies are structured, it is an interesting watch. But it is not by any stretch an entertaining mainstream movie. The director Noah Hawley will need to do better in the “commercially-appealing” stakes for his next film: since he’s been (rather surprisingly) given the helm for the sequel to “Star Trek: Beyond“.
(For the full graphical review, check out the review on One Mann's Movies here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2020/03/09/one-manns-movies-dvd-review-lucy-in-the-sky-2019/ ).
Lee (2222 KP) rated Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) in Movies
Oct 16, 2018 (Updated Oct 16, 2018)
Nice mystery thriller
The El Royale is a bi-state establishment. A painted red line runs straight through the centre of the car park and right through the centre of reception, leading to a jukebox. One half of this hotel lies in Nevada, the other half in California. The rooms on the California side are a little more expensive because.... well, because it's California!
A number of guests arrive in reception - Jon Hamm is a vacuum cleaner salesmen, keen to stay in the honeymoon suite, Jeff Bridges is a priest and Cynthia Erivo a singer. They chat a while as they wait for somebody to return to the reception desk so that they can check in. And then another woman arrives, played by Dakota Fanning. She's not so chatty.
They all head off to their rooms and begin behaving in very different and mysterious ways. One is taking the room apart, removing microphones and phone taps, another is lifting up floorboards, another is singing into the mirror while another is bringing in a body from the boot of a car.
There's not a lot else that can be said without giving things away but much of the movie is spent exploring each of these characters and what they're all up to. We go back in time days, even years, exploring their past a little and discovering what brought them all to the El Royale. Stories within the hotel overlap and affect each other, with twists and turns revealing different motives for various people. It's all very mysterious, very well executed and very enjoyable.
Where I felt the movie falters is in the latter third, with the introduction of Chris Hemsworth. I didn't really buy into his character at all and that's when the pacing, the mystery and the enjoyment fell apart somewhat for me. It picks up with a couple more twists and surprises towards the but at 141 minutes, I feel the movie could have easily benefited from losing 20-30 minutes from its run time. Overall though, this was an enjoyable bit of fun.
A number of guests arrive in reception - Jon Hamm is a vacuum cleaner salesmen, keen to stay in the honeymoon suite, Jeff Bridges is a priest and Cynthia Erivo a singer. They chat a while as they wait for somebody to return to the reception desk so that they can check in. And then another woman arrives, played by Dakota Fanning. She's not so chatty.
They all head off to their rooms and begin behaving in very different and mysterious ways. One is taking the room apart, removing microphones and phone taps, another is lifting up floorboards, another is singing into the mirror while another is bringing in a body from the boot of a car.
There's not a lot else that can be said without giving things away but much of the movie is spent exploring each of these characters and what they're all up to. We go back in time days, even years, exploring their past a little and discovering what brought them all to the El Royale. Stories within the hotel overlap and affect each other, with twists and turns revealing different motives for various people. It's all very mysterious, very well executed and very enjoyable.
Where I felt the movie falters is in the latter third, with the introduction of Chris Hemsworth. I didn't really buy into his character at all and that's when the pacing, the mystery and the enjoyment fell apart somewhat for me. It picks up with a couple more twists and surprises towards the but at 141 minutes, I feel the movie could have easily benefited from losing 20-30 minutes from its run time. Overall though, this was an enjoyable bit of fun.
JT (287 KP) rated Richard Jewell (2019) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) is a softly spoken, overzealous university campus security guard whose heart is in the right place and is dedicated to his job – maybe a little too much.
When he discovers a backpack containing a pipe bomb at a celebratory music concert at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, his quick thinking saves countless lives. Unfortunately for Richard, he becomes the prime suspect in the investigation and with it, his life is turned upside down as he’s thrust into the media spotlight.
Directed by Clint Eastwood Richard Jewell follows in similar vein to films like American Sniper and The 15:17 to Paris where the central characters struggle with the media attention they receive in the aftermath of events.
The scene during the concert is recreated with meticulous precision and attention to detail and there is genuine tension as you realise that at any point the bomb is going to explode. The investigation is led by FBI agent Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm) who with little to go on places Richard in the spotlight and will stop at nothing to prove his guilt, using every trick in the book to get Richard to confess.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist Kathy Scruggs played by Olivia Wilde was portrayed unfairly for implying that she traded sex for stories. Having died in 2001 she was not around to defend herself, which is a black mark for Eastwood on an otherwise very well directed film.
The journal ran the story much to the delight of Scruggs, but it painted Jewell as the villain causing considerable pain to him and his mother Bobi (Kathy Bates) who delivers another acting masterclass in her supporting role. Scruggs realised her error later on but it was too little too late as the damage to Jewell’s reputation had already been done.
One of the highlights of the film is the relationship between Richard and attorney Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell). It’s very heartwarming as Watson stood by him until the end even right up to the point of passing on that the real bomber, Eric Rudolph, had confessed to the crime. Richard Jewell is not a gripping film outside of the first half but it’s a powerful watch heightened by excellent acting.
When he discovers a backpack containing a pipe bomb at a celebratory music concert at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, his quick thinking saves countless lives. Unfortunately for Richard, he becomes the prime suspect in the investigation and with it, his life is turned upside down as he’s thrust into the media spotlight.
Directed by Clint Eastwood Richard Jewell follows in similar vein to films like American Sniper and The 15:17 to Paris where the central characters struggle with the media attention they receive in the aftermath of events.
The scene during the concert is recreated with meticulous precision and attention to detail and there is genuine tension as you realise that at any point the bomb is going to explode. The investigation is led by FBI agent Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm) who with little to go on places Richard in the spotlight and will stop at nothing to prove his guilt, using every trick in the book to get Richard to confess.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist Kathy Scruggs played by Olivia Wilde was portrayed unfairly for implying that she traded sex for stories. Having died in 2001 she was not around to defend herself, which is a black mark for Eastwood on an otherwise very well directed film.
The journal ran the story much to the delight of Scruggs, but it painted Jewell as the villain causing considerable pain to him and his mother Bobi (Kathy Bates) who delivers another acting masterclass in her supporting role. Scruggs realised her error later on but it was too little too late as the damage to Jewell’s reputation had already been done.
One of the highlights of the film is the relationship between Richard and attorney Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell). It’s very heartwarming as Watson stood by him until the end even right up to the point of passing on that the real bomber, Eric Rudolph, had confessed to the crime. Richard Jewell is not a gripping film outside of the first half but it’s a powerful watch heightened by excellent acting.