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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Mary Queen of Scots (2018) in Movies

Jul 2, 2019

Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

2018 | Biography, Drama, History

6.3

(15 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Mary Queen of Scots” tells the story of two women fighting to rise above the status quo and take the power that they were genetically entitled to. Yet, their paths are forsaken by the omnipresent patriarchy, despite their high status and crowns.

The film is a display of the hard hands of men attempting to crush the ambitions of women. The manipulative and aggressive power of the patriarchy is a theme sown throughout the story.

This tale is filled with twists and turns, betrayal, romance, gore, and heartache. It is a portrayal of a timeless theme.

The audience will be placed in another world of the distant past where life was poor, brutish, nasty, and short, as Leviathan would have put it.

Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I, embodies a woman absorbed by the challenge of maintaining her crown. She forfeits her femininity to become a masculine ruler out of necessity and the impact upon her is great in sacrifice.

On the other hand, her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, played by Saoirse Ronan, is an ambitious leader with hopes to bring peace between two kingdoms at all costs.

Ronan delivers an elegant and passionate performance as Mary, a headstrong and fearless lady of power with rosy cheeks and eyes full of brightness. She believes in love and she believes in truth, but she also believes in war. The audience will experience where her values and virtue lead her.

If escape from the mundane modern world is what the movie goer desires, this will be the perfect film. It is a balance of everything and a reflection of life itself in all its most ugly and beautiful moments.

Director Josie Rourke has delivered a riveting historical drama onto the big screen.

The film has an ethereal and realistic way of reviving this piece of our past. But heed my warning, it will not be for the faint of heart.

Kudos

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Friday the 13th (2009) in Movies

Feb 10, 2020

This "remake" of the cult classic 80s slasher is actually one of those modern horror soft reboots, that could be considered a sequel, in this case, following on directly from the original, but ignoring any of the original follow ups.
It's probably not accurately, a re-tread of the first four films, all rolled into a slick looking update.
That's precisely what the main positive is. Friday the 13th looks great. It has good production values, largely practical effects when it comes to the nasty stuff, and even boasts a few striking images here and there.

The main man himself, Jason Voorhees, is portrayed here as a kind of hunter, merely protecting his territory, and this time around, he's an absolute beast, he's brutal, he runs, and he is genuinely quote terrifying at times. The film cycles through both his original potato sack look, and his more well know hockey mask look, and actor Derek Mears successfully plays him off as an imposing threat.
The rest of the cast is where Friday the 13th really suffers. With the exception of Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, and Arlen Escarpeta, none of the human characters are remotely likable. I get that the writers were probably going for the whole rooting-for-them-to-die-horribly schtick, but honestly, these characters are so exhausting, non-funny, and irritating that it genuinely makes the bulk of the movie unenjoyable.
There's zero character development, and an unnecessary opening narrative (that lasts 25 minutes) about a separate group of equally unlikable douche bags makes the plot an absolute drag.

I did like the opening scene, that re-tells the climax of the original film in a stylish black and white sequence with the odd flash if colour, and a lot of the Jason action and kills are ridiculous and exciting, and that makes Friday the 13th just about watchable as a dumb-but-entertaining popcorn horror.

Here's hoping the whole rights issue gets sorted soon so someone can try again!