Not Just About Strippers Robbing Rich Guys...

 I’ve been quite preoccupied lately but I did manage to see a film that was talked about, praised and of course then over looked by most. I now completely understand the hype and delight surrounding ‘Hustlers’.

Looking back, I think I just over looked the film as all I saw was a poster of strippers. No context, just well-known faces playing strippers and the colours were all neon pink and purple. The buzz started on Twitter, as most things do, then it elevated to high praise quite quickly. This wasn’t just ‘some run of the mill stripper film’. This was based on a true story about how a group of strippers had fleeced quite a few wealthy disgusting men after the financial meltdown of 2008. But the film was even more than that, it was about friendship and close bonds forged and shattered. It was about finding your tribe and surviving through the worst times together as well as celebrating the best of times. It was NOT just any film.

Based on an article that was published in 2015 written by Jessica Pressler about a group of strippers who had drugged men and stolen their money. Of course, any true story that begins this way is going to grab people’s attention. It’s a fantastic story but the film has been given another edge, it’s about friendship. I avoided saying ‘female’ friendship as gender doesn’t need to be stated. Given the Robin Hood angle as these women were stealing from wealthy men, mostly disgusting men, drugging them so they wouldn’t remember and taking what they believed they were owed or rather earned. The women are given space in the story to talk and aren’t just pretty objects to be admired. They talk about the job, making a living, surviving. They have dreams, modest even, but the best part of the story isn’t the crimes their committed, is the central characters relationship between Destiny and Ramona. Key players in the article that caught the attention of many.

Without going in to great detail as this film should be watched with fresh eyes if you haven’t seen it, the film is a mix of black comedy, crime drama and female empowerment. This, much like the drug the women cook up, is a dangerous concoction that could easily be written off as weak crime thriller fodder but in the right hands, director/writer Lorene Scafaria to be exact, the film is effortless, brilliantly acted and doesn’t turn down a dark hole of hate. The love and respect between Ramon and Destiny, even til the end, is genuine. Why aren’t there more films like this?

Watch List December

The leftovers from 2019...

Hail Satan?

 Who'd have thought that a documentart about a religion would grab my attention and even make me think twice about religion on the whole? I was surprised at how straight forward the story of the Satanic Temple was. On the surface it looks like its a group of satan worshipers who to put a statue representing their beliefs next to the 10 Commandments statue outside a courthouse BUT in fact is actually a fantastic positive group of people who came together to form the temple. They stand for all the things that those Bible bashers claim to be but aren't. As someone who was brought up Catholic, now not, I know exactly what those 'Christians' are like, maybe not to the extreme that the Americans are but I know them. Thought provoking and brilliantly told story. Hopefully the separation of Church and State will be realised, soon. 4/5

Little Women

SPOILERS

Honestly, I was very disappointed when I heard that this was to be Greta Gerwig's next feature. I haven't enjoyed the previous adaptations I've seen, I don't really like the story but I do love the characters. My main problem is that I can't understand why Jo and Laurie don't get together, not married, just not to together. His 'romance' with Amy is literally just filling the void and in any version I've seen, its always going to be like that. Anyway....I loved this film. It was full of passion, creativity, Laura Dern and four brilliant sisters. Each were given a story, each was given a personality and each were fierce and brave in their own way. I was most pleased that Beth was given the heart of the story with just a few simple exchanges and her piano playing. A fantastic film that changed my mind about the story on the whole BUT still think Jo and Laurie would have been better suited, but thats just me. 4/5

Uncut Gems

Lots of screaming, lots of yelling, lots of money, not that many gems. My full review is over at Vulturehound HERE. 3/5

Frozen 2

Unlike the truly terrible (apart from Olaf) Frozen from yesteryear, this is a rare occurance. This Disney sequel is far better, still flawed, than the first. Great songs (can't remember them really) and finally Jonathan Groff stops talking like his reindeer and is given a song and its hilarious. There's an amazing water horse spirit thing and an enchanted forest, plus the cutest little fire lizard. The highlights come from Olaf who recaps the entire first film which is, again, hilarious as well as dropping inspirational and terrifying instagram quotes all over the place. It really was so much better and there's even barely any rock troll moments!! But the entire story is flawed and alot of what Elsa has to do it a bit obvious. But who cares! There's a cute fire demon thing in it! 3/5

6 Underground

I'm not a Michael Bay fan, at all but this cast was too good to ignore. And that is exactly what it is, a fantastic cast who deserved a whole better. The concept is borrowed and twisted and not in a good way. But the characters really do save this piece of high budget trash. Ryan Reynolds wants a franchise but the only way it could work is if he took the reins and made it better, like he did with Deadpool. 3/5

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

For the full experience, please read HERE.  3/5

The Rise of Skywalker

SPOILERS. There are SPOILERS in this post, you have been warned.

For those who love the originals, for those who actually the prequels and for those who adore the latest films, this isn’t made for you. To those who don’t really watch Star Wars or were at the cinema and didn’t know what to watch, this film was made for you, so, you’re welcome. Collectively Kathleen Kennedy, Disney, JJ Abrams and that guy Chris who really has no idea what he’s doing, decided it was a fantastic idea to completely change the film, with reshoots, rewrites and cutting 30% of the film as late as October 2019. What I’d give to see the rumoured multiple endings and the original direction and ending of the film. There wouldn’t be THIS much outrage across the fandom or the tepid mediocre ‘I guess it was ok’ reactions from those who, to be honest, aren’t as big a fans as Star Wars fans. Yes, I’m saying this, because in my opinion I believe it. Let’s get started, shall we?
As a film, it offers amazing scenery, visual and practical effects galore, a few nostalgia trips that are appreciated and that’s it. The story is confusing, backtracks quite a few things from the previous films in the trilogy, adds in characters we haven’t seen in decades that were thought to be dead, cuts down characters roles to near nothing, shatters fans hopes for certain characters including the actor who plays him, cobbles together an ending that seriously flawed, denies us a scene that would have greatly improved the film, kills off a fan favourite without justification, shatters another fan base while thinking they did what they wanted, ends appallingly overall and doesn’t give us hope for the future of Star Wars.

The film jumps right into the action after a very quick intro in the opening scroll, with Kylo Ren finding and fighting his way to Exogol, the Sith home world or something near to that. There he meets Emperor Palpatine who is somehow alive and tells him to kill Rey and he’ll give him power and his Final Order, a massive fleet of star destroyer ships. Rey meanwhile is training with Leia’s guidance but as she is now struggling with the light and dark, she keeps failing. Poe, Finn, Chewie and C3PO pick up a message from a spy in the First Order about Palpatine and about the impending doom that will occur. The gang and Rey go on a mission to find a way finder that should lead to Exogol so that Rey can confront and kill the emperor once and for all.

To avoid giving a beat by beat critique that will just feel like a story explanation, similar to what I’ve seen Youtubers do, I’ll dive straight in. Having seen the film twice, I gained clarity on most of the story and characters. Meaning that the first time I just felt outraged and was over heated and immensely annoyed at the death of Ben Solo. The second time around, I could almost enjoy the mediocre tone of the film. No character was given a good send off, but on a whole the film was enjoyable IF you over looked everything that was built up in the previous films in the so-called trilogy. But my enjoyment was stunted by the incredible bad ending, not just Ben Solo dying but the fact we were all denied an actual fight between Palpatine, Rey and Ben. As well as dialogue between Rey and Ben at the end, but I’ll get into that later. We were also given a real slap in the face rip of ending that had been taken from Return of the Jedi with the Resistance or Rebels or whatever they were calling themselves by the end. The film was a mixed bag that consisted of plot and style elements stolen from other Star Wars films, note stolen, not homaged, terrible plotlines for all the rebel characters, a complete change in direction for the entire saga and a dissatisfying end for Rey and Ben.

With the reshoots in mind and the last minute changes, I’d really like to see what the original plan was and I’d also like to see the original cut of one of the final scenes which quite a few people have fixed for fans out there, yes, especially for Reylo fans, but in all fairness, it’s not only Reylo fans who are calling for justice over Ben Solo. Kylo Ren was a huge fan favourite across the ages of fans, seeing this happen with such a, let’s face it, utter shit inconclusive ending, its fair for the outrage. Having Adam Driver missing from nearly all press events was a huge tell-tale sign too. This could be explained as that he was busy promoting Marriage Story, even though that came out a month earlier, but it’s still something not to be ignored. JJ Abrams and the writer of such fan favourites as Superman vs Batman and Justice League Chris Terrio have been next to no help with trying quash outraged fans and disappointed audiences, they’ve continued to try and justify their pathetic attempt to end an epic story.

The major ridiculous plot twist that wasn’t a twist as it was basically blurted out in the first 5 minutes, making Rey Palpatine’s granddaughter was a weak attempt to try and justify Rey’s position in the Star Wars story. Making her ‘someone’ negates the whole point of what the trilogy was meant to be about. You don’t have to be famous to be someone great. But to JJ and that t**t Terrio apparently you are only worth something if you’re famous. Really shoddy character development boys. Rey’s story was set up as different and more interesting than the people of note. Believing that anyone could be a Jedi was the hope we needed and made for a great story, but JJ and Chris just burnt that-wait did the Torries write this? Rey’s story on her own was ruined but her continuing bond with Kylo Ren/Ben Solo was becoming more interesting. Confirming that they are a Dyad, the literal embodiment of the light and dark sides of the force was meant to be a bigger deal but despite being the best parts of the whole film, Rey and Ben didn’t get their epic battle with Palpatine, they didn’t even get to be happy together. Hollywood just didn’t want to give us the happy ending to the saga. This time, a happy ending would have made sense and no one would have complained.

After delivering such a brilliant cinematic masterpiece, Rian Johnson’s excellent story telling was ignored, negated and just plain disrespected by JJ. Johnson gave us a Rose Tico. JJ just cut her out of the story, even getting her to actively say she’ll miss out on the adventure to do some paper work or study something. Appalling. Finn, who was and is force sensitive was reduced to just screaming everyone’s names, mostly Rey’s. Finn and Rose were great characters, but clearly all JJ and Chris cared about was….was….actually no idea. Did they even care at all? They cared enough to put out rumours of Poe Dameron being gay. They definitely spent time on that. Even adding in a whole new female character from his past to flirt with a bit. Pointless. Oscar Isaacs has said that Poe was gay so I’ll take the actor who advocated for FinnPoe or StormPilot to be cannon. We were robbed of a genuine pairing here. These were just the tip of the iceberg. With plot holes and pointless detours galore such as why bother making Hux a spy just to kill him seconds later? How the hell did Palpatine survive the Death Star, really, how? Cryptic warbling doesn’t cut it. Where is Ben? He wasn’t a force ghost at the end so where is he? Why was Rey more emotional when she healed Ben than when he died? Actually, I can answer that, he wasn’t meant to die. Who the hell had sex with Palpatine? How the hell did Rey’s parents manage to be anonymous for so long? What was the point of death teasing C3PO and Chewie, seriously what was the point?? Also why the hell did Disney and LucasFilm think this terrible mess of a film would satisfy fans and non-fans alike? Its not even a case of all those who liked TLJ hate TROS, it’s a mix of hate and ‘meh, it was ok’. They wanted to avoid further discourse but instead shot themselves in the head with this mess. They could have just given what we all wanted, they would have made money either way.

Jojo Rabbit

Even though I saw this last year at LFF, here’s my review of Jojo Rabbit, besser spät als nie.

Going into a Taika Waititi film there is an expectation these days. Before with his earlier releases you literally went into the cinema no knowing what you’d get but you knew you’d be laughing. Looking over his past films, Thor aside, there’s been an odd mix of wonderfully wacky characters within stories exploring love, abandonment, grief, boyhood and usually featuring an odd pairing. ‘Jojo Rabbit’ is all of these elements rolled into one, but the difference between all the past creations and Jojo is that, this is a war film. This is something to bare in mind when going into Taika’s latest with expectations.

‘Jojo Rabbit’’s plot had been loosely explained as the film where Waititi plays Hitler as an imaginary friend of a ten-year-old boy which is literally all you need to know about the film’s plot. But just to add a bit more clarity the film is set in Germany, weeks before the end of second World War. Jojo is an avid member of the Hitler Youth Organisation but after a traumatic incident, he starts to doubt his allegiance to the cause, despite having Hitler as his imaginary friend. His doubts become greater when he discovers that his mother has been hiding a Jewish teenage girl in their home and has to decide whether to turn her in or not.

With star studded cast fleshing out the supporting adult roles, the younger cast are given the main part of the drama which is the real strength of the story. The comedic tone overall is hilarious, poking obvious fun at the Nazi’s and their beliefs about Jews and how they functioned, even to the end of the war and the fall of Germany. The humour is dark in places but as this is a war film, its expected and is still enjoyable for the most part. Waititi’s Hitler is a highlight and brilliantly ludicrous, as in one scene he is seen eating a unicorn, but he actually features less than you’d imagine, which in story terms make sense. All the scenes with Jojo and Elsa, the Jewish teen, played fantastically by Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie are a delight, watching their tentative friendship unfold. Archie Yates as Jojo’s friend Yorki is just so adorable and steals a few scenes. With Scarlett Johansson as Jojo’s mother and Sam Rockwell on absolute top form as a German Officer, the adult and mainly comedic cast round out the story but this film really does belong to the young cast.

There are laughs to be had and comedy is the film’s second nature, war being its first, the balance between the two does work. Smaller elements such as famous pop songs sung in German and random cardboard costumes thrown just give the film that Waititi touch. Overall the film feels like an step towards the unknown which I welcome as I always look forward to what he’ll come up with next.

The Rise of Skywalker Was a Huge Mistake

THIS IS NOT A REVIEW this is just a discussion peice. 

For any poor soul who follows me on Instagram or Twitter you have unfortunately been dragged into my Star War breakdown. Also apologies for Twitter especially as I tried to not to post about it but everyone else had and there were a few choice tweets that were just too good to not share, obviously I mentioned there would be spoilers on there so now I say there are spoilers galore in this post and the next so read on only if you’ve seen the film(s) or you like spoilers.

Long have I waited to see the final Star Wars film in the saga. And its rushed production issues, reshoots, script changes were its undoing.

To start with, I wanted to state that I have always been a huge fan of Star Wars. It is my childhood, my teenage years and now my adulthood. I grew up watching the originals on VHS tapes that we used to record of the TV. I even went to the cinema to watch The Phantom Menace and of course I watched the new trilogy films multiple times in the cinema. Star Wars is close to my heart and as much as I love the originals (prequels I do not like) I really liked the new characters and the story of the newer films. I was devastated by TROS. My immediate opinion was that the film was entertaining (mostly) and apart from the abomination of an ending, it could be saved but after a second watch, I have decided that, for me, the film is clearly a mess.

The film has been plagued by reshoots, last minute script changes and rumoured test screenings with Disney folk, this has all been confirmed by cast members, crew and yes in the media. This was a production that was cowering under the weight of its own gravitas. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. There was also a rumour that there were several different endings which gives me hope that the better ending is somewhere and at the same time makes me nauseous as this explains why the film, especially the end is a complete mess.

Some people out there have praised the film and JJ Abrams for his efforts saying that it wasn’t too bad after what he was left with after Rian Johnson. This infuriates as not only because The Last Jedi is the superior film and actually followed on from the previous, The Force Awakens, but also, JJ Abrams was also involved in making TLJ. He was executive producer as well as Johnson confirming that he and JJ discussed plot but as there was no end, yet, he worked from TFA. So, idiots of the galaxy, stop blaming Johnson for something that your precious JJ was involved with too. Johnson has been the voice of reason throughout this whole saga since his involvement. He has rightly said ‘Catering to Fans, Rather Than Challenging Them, Is a ‘Mistake’ and has been nothing but a true filmmaker and gentleman throughout TLJ discourse that still rages across the internet. Someone on twitter even wrote a letter to Johnson asking for help and getting involved with Star Wars again and while its amusing there is so much truth in it. You can read it HERE.

From Disney’s point of view, they won’t take risks so when half the Star Wars loved TLJ and the other half hated it, they took no notice of the former. For them the whole point of TROS was to squash any greedy needy fanboys/girls out there who wanted nothing but fan service and no consistent story and just give them what they wanted. This film was to appeal to the masses AND the TLJ haters. But in doing so, they created an even greater divide, they didn’t get the peaceful end. They instead got more discourse and an uproar. They didn’t just end the film so terribly, but several characters were not given what they deserved. They also acknowledged quite a few fan fuelled ideas that came out of characters’ chemistry but didn’t act on it. Some of these naturally evolved with the story others were just ignored. Disney seemed to flat out refuse FinnPoe, even though this was known and loved by the actors and wasn’t just a passing comment, the fans wanted this. But Disney doesn’t take chances. Instead they make a huge deal about 2 second kiss between two women that can easily be cut out and sold to various territories. Ridiculous. Reylo was the other huge shipping but this, as I said, evolved from the story as well as the great chemistry between the actors. This actual pairing was a huge part of the story BUT JJ Abrams stammered to say that its platonic while in the script Rey and Ben Solo are named soulmates. JJ really doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

The way the trilogy was set up was that three different directors would take the reins of each film. JJ Abrams gave us TFA which was about introducing new characters, story and still paying homage the originals, fan service basically but it worked here. Rian Johnson gave us what we needed for the story to continue and to show that new ideas fuel new stories but in order to do so, you need to let the past go. What was then needed was a director who could give us a fulfilling ending while continuing the story and themes. BUT instead Disney and Lucas Films made the mistake of getting JJ back and then collectively ruin one of the greatest sagas in film history. How will they ever recover? 

The fact that this is the last film in the Skywalker saga doesn’t mean no more Star Wars films not by a long shot as Disney wants money above all things. But with how the film ended, I’m worries no will get closure on the glaring plot holes of TROS. The idea scenario would be new characters, new stories BUT Rey without Ben alone on Tatooine needs to be fixed or an alternative ending needs to resurface. With the amount of backlash over the film, this terrible end needs to be addressed. Through all the videos, posts, features, reviews and tweets the most consistent opinions I’ve seen about the film is that it’s a mess (not even kidding) that the ending was terrible and most of all, Ben Solo should have lived, he deserved so much better. This is a cry for resurrection or he’s trapped in the worlds between worlds or something. But THAT needs to be answered. And not by JJ who didn’t even know how the film was going to end until October this year. 

All this and I haven’t really got into the film yet.

If you can stand to read my writing any longer, I’ll be writing just about TROS next.

Watch List 2019

This year, I keep saying it, has been an odd one for films, especially at the festivals. There has been notable ends to massive franchises, Avengers and now Star Wars, as well as some fantastic stories with women front and centre as well as films by women getting the praise they deserve. These are my films of the year, usually picked from what I've written about each month, but we all know I lapsed towards the end. I have included films from festivals as they were brilliant and I think count as a release in the UK. If you're wondering where Jojo Rabbit and Portrait of a Woman on Fire is, they come out next year so I'm afraid won't be included in this year.

This one crept up and made a huge impact on all comic book fans. Its the best comic book film I've seen, maybe even better than my beloved Guardians of the Galaxy. This Spider-Man film not only manages to side step some of the terrible films that came out, it even pokes fun at them. The fact that there are multiple universes and each one there is a Spider-Person must mean that there are multiple versions of all the Marvel characters. In this film, this is Miles' time to shine. The film introduces a new Spider-Man, passes the baton, gives him a worthy story to work with, gives him THE best mentor a would be hero could ask (Peter B. Parker perfectly cast/voiced by Jake Johnson) for AND even has time to introduce 4 other great Spider characters from multiple universes AND bring villain King Pin back to his original place, fighting Spidey as well make Dr Oct a woman voiced by the amazing Kathryn Hahn, literally all my dreams came true with this film. Story and characters aside, the film is brilliantly animated, making it look like a comic literally came to life, with the voiceover, speech bubbles, the black lines of the panels. This film is so brilliantly constructed, it shows up all the previous efforts, this film is pure comic book heart.
 
I first saw the trailer late at night while clicking through various posts and immediately regretted and was excited by it. Using a classic hip hop song to lure you in to the hellscape that await you - genius. A simple story at the core of the film, a family goes on vacation to the beach and are then terrorised by their distorted doubles, leaves so much room for the bigger issues being explored. Appreciating every aspect of the film and how much actual detail in the film is actually enjoyable, inbetween stuffing my mouth with my jacket to stop me yelling out in fear of course. The fact that Jordan Peele's horror film(s) are grounded in the horrific nature of human beings mkaes the horror feel much closer to home, even if a little bit of sci-fi is used to enhance the premise. With creepy twists and turns throughout as well as forehsadowing galore, its much more than I expected.

 So much has been said about Claire Denis' science fiction slightly horror toned drama where Robert Pattinson looks after a baby, at least that's putting it lightly. Death row inmates are given the chance to serve science by journeying into space to extract energy from a black hole. Aboard this particular ship is Dr Dibs, who is obsessed with making babies. She collectes sperm from the willing male inmates and tries to impregnate the female inmates. There is also the terrifyingly shot 'fuck box' which the crew uses to masturbate, all except Monte, nicknamed, the monk. Existence on the ship shifts from sedative induced nights to bleak days, some of the crew finds solace in the ship's garden, others stare into the vast space around them. The mystery unfolds of how Monte comes to be the only crew member left, plus a baby to care for but the true myteries are left unanswered. Such as why were they sent there, what crimes brought them to the ship (only two inmates' backgrounds are revealed) and are there more ships apart from the one with stray dogs? It's a science fiction peice of art that you can dwell on for days. Horror, is other people and the feeling that you're not in control seeps into the cracks of the ship and story and never really leaves you, as well as that damn 'fuck box'.

 An ode to being in the 8th Grade or in the UK, I think this is first year of secondary school. Captures exactly how it feels to be this age. I wrote all about how much I loved this film and everything its about HERE. 

Is it an origin story or is a slow burn thriller into the dark and dirty depressing side of comedy? Well maybe both. Its the film that caused the biggest discourse of the year. I wrote a long post on this one, so brace yourself, especially if you didn't like the film. Read it HERE. 

A brilliantly scripted story about two best friends and one night where they want to prove they are fun as well as smart. My post about the film is HERE.

This was my favourite film from EIFF and its about a woman who really can't be bothered to 'grow up', its superb. Really hoping this still gets a release in the UK. My review is over at VultureHound HERE.

Pedro Almodovar is back and he's back not with a vengence or comedy or thriller but a story very close to his heart, or at least it feels that way. Full review is over at Vulturehound HERE.

Jean Dujardin is Georges. He is obessesed with his deerskin jacket. What if his jacket was the only one in the world? Armed with a video camera, a plastic poncho and a ceiling fan blade, he can make that dream come true. The full review is over at Vulturehound and can be read HERE.

Two best friends, one writer, one party connoisseur, live in Dublin drinking their way through life, until one starts to look at their live without the ‘fun’ filter. I wrote more about the film HERE.

Based the novel 'The Sopranos' taking us back to the 90s, a group of friends are let loose on the streets of Edinburgh before a school choir competition, all with similar things in mind, booze, boys and having fun. My full review can be read HERE on Zavvi.