Tag: Film

Watched 2023 film directed by Ben Wheatley by Contributors to Wikimedia projects from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Meg 2: The Trench (titled Shark 2 in some territories[2]) is a 2023 science fiction action film directed by Ben Wheatley and a sequel to The Meg (2018), based on the 1999 novel The Trench by Steve Alten. Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris all return as writers from the first film, with Jason Statham, Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, and Cliff Curtis reprising their roles alongside Wu Jing, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, and Skyler Samuels. Like the previous film, it follows a group of scientists who must outrun and outswim the megalodons when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival.

Source: Meg 2: The Trench – Wikipedia

I Found Meg 2 on Netflix. I wonder if Jason Statham’s absurd heroics makes him one of the funniest people on film or maybe I have been listening to too much Sizzletown? Favourite line:

We do what’s in front of us, then we do the next thing.

Watched 1985 film directed by John Hughes by Contributors to Wikimedia projects from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
On the New Music Friday podcast, discussed The Bleachers origins as a soundtrack for an imaginary John Hughes film. (Read Yasmeen Gharnit’s attempt at matching up of John Hughes films associated with Strange Desires.) I was left intrigued at thinking about the Bleachers through this lens.

I grew up with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Home Alone and Dennis the Menace, but for whatever reason, I never borrowed The Breakfast Club (or Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles) from the video store.  I recently watched The Breakfast Club for the first time. It was an intriguing film, basically set in one space, similar to Reservoir Dogs. (I imagine that both films have been adapted this for the stage since.)

It is intriguing watch these films with hindsight, as Ringwald touched on in her 2018 essay rethinking her three films in a post-#METOO world:

John’s movies convey the anger and fear of isolation that adolescents feel, and seeing that others might feel the same way is a balm for the trauma that teen-agers experience. Whether that’s enough to make up for the impropriety of the films is hard to say—even criticizing them makes me feel like I’m divesting a generation of some of its fondest memories, or being ungrateful since they helped to establish my career. And yet embracing them entirely feels hypocritical. And yet, and yet. . . .

How are we meant to feel about art that we both love and oppose? What if we are in the unusual position of having helped create it? Erasing history is a dangerous road when it comes to art—change is essential, but so, too, is remembering the past, in all of its transgression and barbarism, so that we may properly gauge how far we have come, and also how far we still need to go.

Source: What About “The Breakfast Club”? by Molly Ringwald

There is something fantastical and absurd about all these films. But on a serious note, when were smoke detectors invented and where is the duty of care with leaving the students unattended for large swathes of time?

Watched Looking for Alibrandi (film) by Contributors to Wikimedia projects from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Rewatching Looking for Alibrandi, I feel that there are films, such as Baz Luhrman’s Romeo and Juliet, that manage to transport your back to a particular time and place through the soundtrack. I feel that this is different to say Donnie Darko whose soundtrack feels like it is designed to construct a particular past.
Watched American Sniper by Contributors to Wikimedia projects from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
American Sniper, based on the memoir American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History (2012) by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice, provides an insight into the conflicted nature of and sacrifices associated with war and challenges with returning back to society.
Watched 2023 American film by Contributors to Wikimedia projects from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
I clearly was not in sync with things when I decided to take my daughter to see Trolls – Band Together. It was slow and boring. I felt I had seen the film in the trailer. I really enjoyed the mix of music in the first two films, but this time around there was not much that was memorable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videodrome
I had never seen Videodrome. It felt like a film that leaves many questions. It made me want to dig back into Deleuze and the body without organs.

The concept of the body without organs was mainly defined by Deleuze and Guattari in the two volumes of their work Capitalism and Schizophrenia, Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus.[11] In both books, the abstract body is defined as a self-regulating process—created by the relation between an abstract machine and a machinic assemblage “Assemblage (philosophy)”)—that maintains itself through processes of homeostasis and simultaneously limits the possible activities of its constituent parts, or organs.[12] The body without organs is the sum total intensive and affective activity of the full potential for the body and its constituent parts.[13]

Source: Body Without Organs by Wikipedia

ᔥ “Jim Groom” in AI106: Long Live the New Flesh | bavatuesdays ()

Watched 2023 computer-animated film, directed by Jeff Rowe by Contributors to Wikimedia projects from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
I saw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Mutant Mayhem today. We had a voucher that was running out and there was not really anything else on.

I grew up with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and saw the 2007 remake. I was not sure what to expect from this revamp.

One of the points of difference was the comic-book style used.

Like with his previous outing, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Rowe wanted Mutant Mayhem to look different from what was expected from an animated film. The director’s aim was to make it heavily resemble the concept art.[33] He was inspired by sketches he made in school notebooks as a teenager and how they tend to have a lot of exaggerated features, spikes, and random effects lines, and wanted the film’s animation to reflect a similar feeling.[34] Rowe described the film’s sketch look as its “North Star”, as the comic book-inspired look was for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).[12]

Source: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Wikipedia

In addition to this, the sound track was done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, which adds a real edge and feel.

Overall, I felt that it was well done. I remember reading on Common Sense Media that it was a film for the family. Although I was not sure about the sadistic torturing, I did feel that it provided aspects for both children and parents alike.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 238 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website’s consensus reads: “With its unique visual style and a story that captures the essence of the franchise’s appeal, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is an animated treat for the whole family.”[78] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating “generally favorable” reviews.[79] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A” on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it an 88% overall positive score, with 70% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[75]

Source: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Wikipedia

Watched 2022 film directed by Dan Trachtenberg by Contributors to Wikimedia projects from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Prey is a 2022 American science fiction action horror film based on the Predator franchise. It is the fifth installment and is a prequel to the first four films, being set in the Northern Great Plains in North America in 1719. The film is directed by Dan Trachtenberg and written by Patrick Aison. It stars Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Michelle Thrush, Stormee Kipp, Julian Black Antelope, Bennett Taylor, and Dane DiLiegro. The story revolves around Naru, a skilled Comanche warrior, who is striving to prove herself as a hunter. She finds herself having to protect her people from a vicious, humanoid alien that hunts humans for sport, as well as from French fur traders who are attacking her people and destroying the Buffalo they rely on for survival.

Although there were elements that seemed a little far-fetched, I enjoyed this addition to the Predator franchise, especially the heroine. I also liked the comparison between the predator and the colonisers.
Watched Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – 2022 film directed by Sam Raimi by Contributors to Wikimedia projects from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a 2022 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Doctor Strange. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to Doctor Strange (2016) and the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Sam Raimi, written by Michael Waldron, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Rachel McAdams. In the film, Strange protects America Chavez (Gomez), a teenager capable of traveling the multiverse, from Wanda Maximoff (Olsen).

I always wondered about the place of X-Men within the Marvel universe.
Watched Birdman by Contributors to Wikimedia projects from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Riggan Thomson is a faded actor famous for playing a superhero named Birdman in a film trilogy from 1989 to 1992. He is tormented by the mocking and critical internal voice of Birdman and frequently visualizes himself performing feats of levitation and telekinesis. Riggan is trying to regain recognition by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver’s short story, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” However, the Birdman voice wants Riggan to return to blockbuster cinema and insists that he is essential to Riggan’s identity.

An absurd insight into the world of self-doubt and imposter syndrome.

ᔥ “Damian Cowell” in Disco ex Machina – YouTube ()

Watched 2021 American comedy disaster film from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Don’t Look Up is a 2021 American apocalyptic black comedy film written, produced, and directed by Adam McKay, and starring an ensemble cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep. It tells the story of two astronomers attempting to warn humanity about an approaching comet that will destroy human civilization. The impact event is an allegory for climate change, and the film is a satire of government, political, celebrity, and media indifference to the climate crisis.[6][7]

I finally got around to watching Don’t Look Up. I remember it receiving a lot of criticism when it was released. I kind of wonder if all this discussion, even though a lot of it seemed critical, was positive in that it got people talking about the subject of global warming? For me, there were some aspects that were really quite absurd. But as the quote from Peter Goldsworthy’s novel ‘Maestro’ goes, “Cartoon descriptions? How else to describe a cartoon world?” In the end, I think George Monbiot captured it best:

Watched The True Story Behind ‘Tolkien’ Is Just As Interesting As ‘Lord Of The Rings’ by Allie Gemmill, Author at Atom Insider | Discover Movie News & Exclusive ArticlesAllie Gemmill, Author at Atom Insider | Discover Movie News & Exclusive Articles from atomtickets.com

When author J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973 at 81, he left behind a family, an academic career, plenty of friends, and esteemed peers. But what the world remembers of Tolkien to this day are his Lord of the Rings novels, along with The Hobbit and The Silmarillion.
While legions of fans keep discoveri…

Biopics are an interesting genre. It is intriguing to read Allie Gemmill’s discussion of J. R. R. Tolkien’s life and some of the facts that were left out for the sake of narrative, such as Tolkien and Bratt marrying. I guess we cannot include every detail of life, but such creations are often just as interesting in what they leave out as what they include.

Another fact is the origin of the idea of ‘Cellar Door’:

Watched Eternals (2021) from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Eternals is a 2021 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Chloé Zhao, who wrote the screenplay with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo. It stars an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. In the film, the Eternals, an immortal alien race, emerge from hiding after thousands of years to protect Earth from their ancient counterparts, the Deviants.

I watched Eternals and could put my finger on how it felt different to other films within the Marvel universe. Joel Hodge captures this difference through an exploration of the humanity, metaphysics and love.

Watched 1917 from imdb.com

April 6th, 1917. As an infantry battalion assembles to wage war deep in enemy territory, two soldiers are assigned to race against time and deliver a message that will stop 1,600 men from walking straight into a deadly trap.

I recently watched two recent films associated with the portrayal of war. The first was the 2019 film Midway. In the fourth segment of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History series on Japanese involvement in World War Two, he dives into the intricacies of the battle at Midway. I am not sure Midway captures the same sense of nuance. To me it strips everything back too far. It has all the parts, but none are really drawn out.

In contrast, 1917 captures a particular moment where two soldiers cross enemy land to deliver a message to stop a 1600 men being slaughtered. The two soldiers cross no-man’s land, survey the way in which the German army retreated and life in towns near the fronts. I felt that this account provided a more captivating recount of life in war.

Bookmarked The Problem of Marital Loneliness by Agnes Callard (The New Yorker)

In Levi’s vision, the problem of loneliness can be addressed by adjusting the pragmatics of mutual dependence; at first, these changes are painful, but eventually everyone is better off—which is to say, better at achieving their goals. For Bergman, connecting is the goal, and it’s not clear that we can do it. It is when Johan and Marianne realize this that they become “citizens of reality,” a loss of innocence from which they cannot recover. Can any marriage survive an honest reckoning with itself? Can you get close enough to any person for life to feel real? These are Bergman’s questions; Levi doesn’t ask them.

Agnes Callard discusses the remake of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage. Another post exploring the reality of marriage is Caryn James’ piece exploring different representations within film. This encourages me to return to the short stories of Frank Moorhouse.
Replied to Plots of Nineteen-Eighties Movies if Their Protagonists Had Been People of Color by Carlos Greaves (The New Yorker)

Carlos Greaves humorously reimagines the plots of eighties film classics, including “Back to the Future,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” if their protagonists had been people of color.

I really enjoyed these interpretations, particularly the one for Risky Business:

However, my favour it Caddyshack:

Watched Soul from imdb.com

Soul is a movie starring Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, and Graham Norton. After landing the gig of a lifetime, a New York jazz pianist suddenly finds himself trapped in a strange land between Earth and the afterlife.

David Sims describes Soul as a grand ambition.

Namwali Serpell argues that it is another attempt to put a white person in a black body.

Soul feels like it sits somewhere between Inside Out and The Emoji Movie.

Liked Waterworld at 25: Reappraising cinema’s biggest flop (BBC)

But if film fans are now beginning to appreciate Waterworld, why was it so eagerly dismissed and savaged when it originally hit cinemas? According to the University of Liverpool’s Yannis Tzioumakis, a perfect storm of issues blighted its release. First of all, there was a “huge increase in what’s called enfotainment” – the combination of entertainment and industry news. This primarily covers “box office figures and film productions, especially if they have problems and go over budget”.

Watched 2017 American biographical musical film directed by Michael Gracey from Wikipedia

The Greatest Showman is a 2017 American musical biographical drama film directed by Michael Gracey in his directorial debut, written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon and starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya. Featuring nine original songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the film is inspired by the story of P. T. Barnum‘s creation of Barnum’s American Museum and the lives of its star attractions.

The Greatest Showman was a nice story with some uplifting music. However, it felt like it overlooked some of the messiness of history. As Jackie Mansky explains:

                  <script note="" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/Blogger-Peer-Review/quotebacks@1/quoteback.js"></script>

There is also this strange Disney subplot where it felt like there was a quota to how many times the camera cut to Zac Efron and Zendaya?