Category: Ramblings

In The Loop (2009)

Rating 15

Length 1Hr 46

Release 17.4.2009

Director Armando Iannucci

About During an interview, British Cabinet Minister Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) delivers an off-the-cuff remark that war in the Middle East is “unforeseeable.” Profane political spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) tries to cover up Foster’s faux pas, but the ill-conceived comment is picked up by a warmongering American official. Foster is invited to Washington, D.C., where a war of words brews as politicians maneuver, manipulate and deceive each other before a U.N. vote on military action.

The Good

  • I like that you don’t need to have seen The Thick of It to watch this film. I’m certain there’s value added for fans, but I certainly didn’t feel lost. Well, no more lost than I ended up being with this car crash of a film.
  • There are some amazing lines in this film. Yes, I’m childish, those lines do mostly involve swearing. From losing count of the amount of fuck’s Capaldi uses to his wonderful ‘fuckerty bye’ I was giggling.
  • Tom Hollander steals the show for me. He’s the satirical incompetent stereoptype who seems to have slept walked into office. He’s genius and the film would have been greatly improved had we have had him as our sole focus for the film.

The Bad

  • It’s plot is a mess. A hot fucking mess. We’re here, we’re there. It’s just shit! To quote the film its ‘arse spraying mayhem.’
  • Party of the problem perhaps was the attempt to ‘appeal’ to an American audience. I don’t know what it is about the media industry, but Dr Who should have taught the BBC that ‘making it more American’ is not the way to do it.

The Ugly

  • The biggest problem for me is the nature of it being largely an improvised comedy. It’s humour feels stunted and rather hit and miss. Yes, there’s some amazing lines that do raise a chuckle. However they’re very few and far between.
  • The handheld camera approach just fucks me off. Especially when you consider that this isn’t presented as a documentary. At no point do any of the characters acknowledge the cameras. Which begs the question, why the fuck bother invoking headaches?!

Final Thoughts

It was just a bit of a clusterfuck if I’m honest. I’d love to say the removal of the handheld would have improved things, but I doubt it. All in all, I’d have rather have watched Capaldi saying ‘fuckerty bye’ repeatedly for 2 hours than this.

Book Review: A Throne of Swans by Katherine & Elizabeth Corr

Publishers Hot Keys

Pages 352

Book birthday 9.1.2020

Came to me direct from the publishers for an honest review

About When her father dies just before her birthday, seventeen-year-old Aderyn inherits the role of Protector of Atratys, a dominion in a kingdom where nobles are able to transform at will into the bird that represents their family bloodline. Aderyn’s ancestral bird is a swan. But she has not transformed for years, not since witnessing the death of her mother – ripped apart by hawks that have supposedly been extinct since the long-ago War of the Raptors.

With the benevolent shelter of her mother and her father now lost, Aderyn is at the mercy of her brutal uncle, the King, and his royal court. Driven by revenge and love, she must venture into the malevolent heart of the Citadel in order to seek the truth about the attack that so nearly destroyed her, to fight for the only home she has ever known and for the land she has vowed to protect.

Written in rich detail and evocative language, this is the start of an irresistible, soaring duology about courage, broken loyalties and fighting for your place in the world.

Characters

  • There isn’t a single character I don’t love in this book. There’s other feelings, obviously, but each one feels so necessary to the plot that you will love them as ensemble. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way before. I’ve either forgotten characters, or felt they were there simply to fulfil a need in the plot.
  • There is of course two I love beyond anything else and those are Aderyn, our protagonist, and Lucien, her clerk. Aderyn is someone I identify with and I feel many will do the same. Her relationship with her parents and the society she’s been protect from might be grander than we may experience, but the emotions are certainly something a reader will empathise with. She’s everything you want in a protagonist. What I love most is how flawed she is and how much she grows throughout the book.
  • Lucien! Oh, beautiful Lucien. I really did love how the Corr sisters managed to get across his feelings while Aderyn seems to not acknowledge them.

Plot

  • It’s a retelling of the classic Swan Lake. Something I had known but completely forgotten by the time I came to read this beautiful book. I am unable to comment upon its comparative narrative, however I will say that as someone with no knowledge of the original source I found this to be a compelling story of fear, trust and politics. I was hooked from the first page and never lost me the way some reworking do. If anything, I feel this book will bring a new generation of fans to the classic story and the ballet that is its most famous platform to explore.
  • There are many plot threads at work and it almost has that episodic charm that I’ve come to associate with Harry Potter. Only here, the threads are a little more interwoven and by no means contained to one chapter; ensuring any reader will be whispering ‘just one more chapter’ until they reach the back cover.
  • Please have your book grieving routine at the read, this is the first in what I believe is a duology and believe me, you’re going to be left on tenterhooks until that second instalment comes out. It’s a perfect way to end as it will prompt conversation between readers and will have those inclined, heading to fan fiction for predictions in the months we’ll all be waiting.

Writing

  • I love reading in first person for this sort of book. The atmosphere is built on the distrust and fear and you most definitely feel it here as it restricts your view of the social standing within the castle Aderyn spends much of the book.
  • I sometimes struggle with fantasy books. Not to do with the content, but the language and perspective used almost slows my reading down and I lose the flow. It’s simply not the case here. The Corr sisters have built not only a world but a complex politically charged society that a reader will fall into and fall in love with.

Final Thoughts

I loved this book, I’m grateful for the book arriving when it did and charming me like a feisty fairytale I have always wanted.

Bowling for Columbine (2002)

Rating 15

Length 2hr

Release 15.11.2002

Director Michael Moore

About Political documentary filmmaker Michael Moore explores the circumstances that lead to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and, more broadly, the proliferation of guns and the high homicide rate in America. In his trademark provocative fashion, Moore accosts Kmart corporate employees and pleads with them to stop selling bullets, investigates why Canada doesn’t have the same excessive rate of gun violence and questions actor Charlton Heston on his support of the National Rifle Association.

The Good

  • Well made and informative. It’s journalism in its truest form and pulls no punches. To that extent it certainly has a level of fair representation and at no point does Moore address the audience and give his opinion. Now, while it might be implied that he is anti-gun, its not said outright and I don’t feel like I’m having someone else’s opinion shoved down my throat. It gives you the freedom to make up your own mind.
  • The film looks at as many root causes to American violence and gun culture. The film looks at the social history, the political history and the culture of fear.

The Bad

  • I felt uncomfortable with some of the emotional manipulation of Columbine survivors, in particularly in regards to them arriving unannounced at a K-Mary head quarters. I believe it’s right to hold them accountable and the survivors have a right to be heard, but it feels a little exploitative to do it for a film.
  • Again, with Charlton Heston, I felt very uncomfortable with everything that is seen to happen after the interview is stopped. Again, he was an absolute knob. Holding a gun convention in a town days after a massacre is thoughtless and insensitive. To do it twice and, both times, refuse to relocate is barbaric. However, I did struggle with watching Moore follow him after leaving.
  • I found the run time a little too long to be affective when the narrative flow doesn’t feel as smooth as other documentary films out there.

The Ugly

  • How is it that the Columbine massacre was 20 years ago, yet there has been no governmental effort or change to ensure public places are safe for citizens? This event and Moore’s film should have been enough to legislate gun control.
  • The film was bold, it was brave and it made people think. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought it would make a difference, so to watch it now it stirs up too much bitterness, too much frustration.

Final Thoughts

Irrespective of its flaws, this is a film that everyone needs to see. Not only that, I somewhat think its time for an updated follow up that looks into the rise of these incidents and the blind ignorance of the US and their flawed logic that guns are okay, but the kinder egg is dangerous enough to be illegal.

Dave (1993)

Rating 12

Length 1Hr 50

Release 5.11.1993

Director Ivan Reitman

About Shifty White House chief of staff Bob Alexander (Frank Langella) hatches a scheme to use a double for the president (Kevin Kline) at a public photo opportunity. Small business owner Dave Kovic (Kline) fits the bill, but after the president suffers a debilitating stroke, opportunist Alexander arranges for Dave to step in full time without even informing the First Lady (Sigourney Weaver). It doesn’t take long before the press, the nation and the president’s wife realize something is different.

The Good

  • What a cast. Frank Langella, Ben Kingsley and Ving Rhames all play supporting roles, but its Kevin Dunn’s appearance that caught me off guard. It’s not like he’s been off our screens in the last few years, but I did forget about his presence in the 90s. Here he plays an almost moral compass that’s lost its way.
  • I love the relationship between Kevin Kline’s Dave and Ving Rhames’ Duane. Watching Dave melt the frosty persona is a delight and much more charming than the relationship of Dave and the First Lady.
  • It is a romantic comedy, but I like that the comedy is fluffy and not too over the top. It’s harmless and doesn’t derive it’s humour from taking shots at other people.
  • I do like the idea of looking at the presidency through the eyes of someone who has no political ambition.

The Bad

  • The politics is a little soft and doesn’t provide anything other than a backdrop and landscape for the story to unfold. It’s a riff on Prince and the Pauper or Man in the Iron Mask, but it does little else.
  • I do feel as if we didn’t spend enough time with Kline as Bill Mitchell. Yes, we see enough to know he’s someone who cheats and we are given additional information throughout the film from other people, but I really would have liked one more scene.

The Ugly

  • There’s a few time when the film using the method of speeding the film up to give us humour. It’s seen in many other films, including Romeo + Juliet and it’s just something I truly dislike. It calls attention to it and pulls me out of the story.
  • While I love Kevin Kline on the most part, there’s always something he does that has me cringing in my seat. Perhaps a sign of a good actor that he can throw himself all in, however I don’t like to cringe and this is perhaps, outside of Wild Wild West, the worst for it. I didn’t need the rendition of The Sun Will Come Out and I didn’t need that whole story.

Final Thoughts

It’s a bit too fluffy to be a go to film, but it does have a charm about it.

Vice (2019)

Rating 15

Length 2hr 12

Release 25.1.2019

About Governor George W Bush of Texas picks Dick Cheney, the CEO of Halliburton Co, to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 presidential election. No stranger to politics, Cheney’s impressive résumé includes stints as White House chief of staff, House Minority Whip and defence secretary. When Bush wins by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world.

Dir Adam McKay

The Good

  • The casting is nothing short of incredible. As a whole. I’m not certain this film would work as well with even one casting change.
  • I found myself strangely sympathising with Cheney. The very fact that the film is able to do this is something. Not only that, it takes me on an emotional U-turn almost the second I’ve accepted my opinion.

The Bad

  • The filming style is what made The Big Short stand out, however the breaking of the 4th wall to explain jargon and political terms doesn’t quite work here. I’m not sure the explanations are explained as well and leave some of the audience behind.
  • It wasn’t his movie, but I do feel Rockwell was underused and the character of Bush almost eradicated from the narrative.

The Ugly

  • For me it plays it a little too loose with the timeline. It felt very timey whimey and really made it difficult to follow at times.

Final Thoughts

It’s something I’ve glad I watched but I think it had too much of its mind on award season glory than the bums on the seats.

The Sky is Mine by Amy Beashel Book Review

Author Amy Beashel

Publisher Rock the Boat

Pages 304

Book birthday 6.2.2020

About No one has ever asked Izzy what she wants. She’s about to change all that…

In a house adept at sweeping problems under the carpet, Izzy’s life is falling apart. Her best friend Grace has abandoned her. Jacob has photos of her, photos he should never have got hold of, and he’s threatening to leak them. Then there’s her stepdad. Her controlling, acidic stepdad, who makes her mum shrink and her stomach churn whenever he enters the room.

It’s hard to know your worth when people shout you down.

But Izzy isn’t going to be silenced anymore. She has a voice, and once she finds it, there’s no stopping her. And if the sky is the limit, then the sky is hers.

For fans of Sara Barnard, Louise O’Neill and E. Lockhart, The Sky is Mine is a powerful exploration of domestic abuse, rape culture and consent, and a call to young women to discover the power of their own voice.

Got it how? I received this direct from Rock the Boat for an honest review

Characters

Izzy is a girl everyone knows. You’ve either heard the rumours, shared the rumours, supported the girl through it all or you may even have been Izzy yourself. Relating with her isn’t important for this book, but believing her and trusting her is. She has a strong voice, even during her weak moments and I’d like to think it will allow some to empathise with what she goes through.

The characters around her vary in what we get to know, which reflects so much of social circles in life. There are characters you’ll meet at the beginning that you suspect will play more of a role that take a back seat. I adored that about this book as it added that extra level of reality and emotion to the narrative.

How Izzy’s mum and step father are written you are aware that Izzy’s emotions do give a bias to their characters. However, that is the nature of a first person narrative and doesn’t stop it being true and their descriptions are balanced by other people’s opinions of them. Personally, I found that the most interesting, especially when considering the step-father and his public and private personas.

Plot

The plot was one of the best contemporary I’ve read in a long while. It’s actually a story I feel should be given to every single adult working in education as CPD and every student in high school to teach empathy and the impact of individual’s actions.

Without revealing too much of the plot, it’s something that cannot be predicted and will surprise you on every turn. Be sure to make a sizeable chuck of time in your day because once you start, you will not put it down.

Writing

As I mentioned before, this book is written in the first person with an incredibly strong, and at times angry, voice. Even at times when Izzy is in fear or is voicing her doubts, you can feel her frustration and almost an internal encouragement to take no more

Final Thoughts

This book holds within its pages such an important story that everyone needs to read. It’s the first time this year that a book has made me miss teaching; it’s the sort of book that would have a waiting list in my personal lending library.

Love Han x

Halloween Advent 2019 Rankings

Order of liking

    Jaws
    The Thing
    The Terminator
    American Werewolf in London
    Jurassic Park
    Cat’s Eye
    The Craft
    The Frighteners
    The Fly 1958
    Hocus Pocus
    Ghostbuster
    The Lost Boys
    Halloween 2018
    A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
    Scream
    Poltergeist (2015)
    Paranorman
    The Creature From the Black Lagoon
    Halloween 1978
    Predator
    The Fly 1986
    The Curse of Frankenstein
    The Horror of Dracula
    Alien
    Monster Squad
    Poltergeist 3
    A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984
    Halloween 2007
    Poltergeist (1982)
    Howling 3
    Dawn of the Dead
    Poltergeist 2
    The Boy
    It (1990)
    Fun Size
    Silence of the Lambs

Order of fear factor

  1. Poltergeist 2
  2. The Fly 1986
  3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
  4. The Thing
  5. The Terminator
  6. Halloween 2007
  7. Jaws
  8. Halloween 2018
  9. Halloween 1978
  10. American Werewolf in London
  11. Alien
  12. Cat’s Eye
  13. The Craft
  14. The Frighteners
  15. Predator
  16. The Curse of Frankenstein
  17. The Horror of Dracula
  18. The Creature From the Black Lagoon
  19. A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984
  20. Poltergeist 3
  21. Scream
  22. Ghostbusters
  23. The Lost Boys
  24. IT (1990)
  25. Silence of the Lambs
  26. Paranorman
  27. The Fly 1958
  28. Hocus Pocus
  29. Poltergeist (1982)
  30. Poltergeist (2015)
  31. The Boy
  32. Monster Squad
  33. Howling 3
  34. Dawn of the Dead
  35. Fun Size
  36. Jurassic Park

The Lost Boys (1987)

Rating 15

Length 1Hr 37

Release 31.7.1987 (US release)

About Teenage brothers Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim) move with their mother (Dianne Wiest) to a small town in northern California. While the younger Sam meets a pair of kindred spirits in geeky comic-book nerds Edward (Corey Feldman) and Alan (Jamison Newlander), the angst-ridden Michael soon falls for Star (Jami Gertz) — who turns out to be in thrall to David (Kiefer Sutherland), leader of a local gang of vampires. Sam and his new friends must save Michael and Star from the undead.

Treat

  • Ed Herrmann is always a joy to see in anything he did. Because of his performance, and his previous roles, I am surprised every time by the reveal. Especially when you play him against Sutherland, who is always good at playing the alpha. This time, because I didn’t remember the dinner sequence, I was convinced it was going to end up being the grandpa as the head vamp.
  • The music to this film is like the 80s equivalent of the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. Cry Little Sister, People are Strange and Good Times are iconic to this film.
  • There’s some excellent flying POV shots at the beginning of the film which keep the mystery of who the vampires are. At least that’s I think that was the purpose. It’s hard to tell going into it already knowing the plot.
  • I love the fact that we are presented with a brotherly relationship that is quite harmonious. At least at the start. It allows that change in character for Michael to have more of an impact.
  • The comedy is pitched perfectly to balance out the darkness within the plot. It could have quite easily be taken too far and camp up the film, but as it stands, it enables the film to be more Goonies after puberty hits than a bloated emo fest.

Trick

  • What the hell was with Corey Feldman’s ‘I am Batman’ voice. It really was stupid and quite possibly made this one of very few roles of his I absolutely hated.
  • Why the hell does Corey Haim have a poster of Rob Lowe in his bedroom? I mean if it was something I believed the character would do, fine. But I so didn’t believe it.
  • How many times did the name ‘Michael’ have to be said? Jesus, that bugged the fuck out of me.

Final Thoughts

Yet another film that scared me as a kid but I love now. The only let down is Feldman’s performance.

Cat’s Eye (1985)

Rating 15

Length 1Hr 34

Release 8.11.1985

About Stephen King tales follow a cat into a smokers clinic, onto a penthouse ledge and into a girl’s (Drew Barrymore) bedroom.

Treat

  • This is like an awesome, film version, of the Treehouse of Horror offerings from the Simpsons. Three short tales, with a connection theme running through. In this case it’s an awesome cat that had me hooked. General is like the Groot of this movie.
  • The first tale is fucked up and I took a rather sick delight in it. An update is needed for the vaping age in which its the smoker who is electrocuted. Although, I did think that if my child looked like Deirdre Barlow, using her as leverage wouldn’t do much good.
  • The middle tale is visually brilliant and the concept is something that’s been used recently in the horror movie Truth or Dare. It’s the shortest of the three and is the only one I’m not sure could ever be adapted into its own full movie.
  • The final story is the most frightening and the one that involves General the most. I was petrified throughout most of it. The music and the visuals of the creepy troll that escaped from Labyrinth will most likely keep me awake tonight. It’s amazing how much is fitted into that thirty-odd minute segment.

Trick

  • This is a personal thing that probably would go into the ‘treat’ for others, but fuck Stephen King. Fuck him up his stupid ass. All the self referential bullshit is so up his own arse and exactly why Stephen Spielberg took out all the references to himself in Ready Player One. I’ll admit its possibly because I’ll not well watched or read when it comes to King, but I know enough for it to grate.

Final Thoughts

It’s a fantastic film with two very strong narratives, excellent performances throughout and loved the fake out ending that almost saw General be the breath taker.

I have a sneaking suspicion I’ve seen this film before, for the sole reason that the window and troll are more how I remembered Labyrinth to be back before my rewatch in 1997-ish. Prior to that, I thought Labyrinth was a horror movie.

Poltergeist (2015)

Rating 15

Length 1Hr 34

Release 22.5.2015

About All seems well for Eric Bowen (Sam Rockwell), wife Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt) and their three children as they move into their new house in the suburbs of Illinois. Soon, youngest daughter Maddy (Kennedi Clements) begins talking to an imaginary friend, or so the family thinks. It’s not long before sinister spirits wreak havoc in the home, holding Maddy captive and forcing the parents to consult a team of parapsychologists who engage the supernatural entities in a battle for the girl’s freedom.

Treat

  • This is a streamlined plot with a well cast family who you will root for off the bat. The film makes it feel as if its learn from the franchise’s missteps to craft a more coherent story. This starts by you seeing them move in rather than having them well established and making a connection to the paranormal investigators earlier in the film.
  • As reboots go, this is a solid attempt at keeping the good while making it the director’s own. They keep the tree, the moving of items and the false resolution, but the best is the young girl’s delivery of the iconic ‘they’re coming’ / ‘they’re here’. It wasn’t a mimic, but actually a much more subdued vibe.
  • Sam Rockwell holds his own in this film. Not only does he have the leading man persona, but he lifts up some of the children’s performances. Rockwell brings comedy and emotion to his role. His ‘you‘ve got to be brave’ speech being cut short by his freak out over an invading squirrel is tricking genius, but it’s his tears at explaining that his daughter is missing that really makes the character well rounded.
  • The use of technology in this update is also something that really gives it a legitimacy as a reboot. I love how the eldest girl, first of all is much more present than the original, uses her phone to detect the disturbances. Then there’s the addition of the drone that is used to explore the Other Side. Yes, its been done to death in Stargate with the Rovers to ‘check out the other worlds’, but her it feels new and has a purpose not only in terms of plot, but character as well.
  • I love this score. I listened to it so much after I’d seen this film in the cinema. I also love the song, TV Set by Spoon, that’s used for the closing credits.
  • Jared Harris, what a brilliant guy. Not quite ham, but whatever it is, he’s certainly enjoying himself.

Trick

  • So, while I end up loving the story arc of middle child Griffin, I fucking hate the kid at the start. I feel as if his meekness and fear of everything is a tad over acted. He’s a massive pussy and a total cock blocker. Even his mum gives him shit for acting like a baby. However, once his sister has been booted into the Other Side, he really does become a brilliant, non-pussy character.
  • The CGI, in places and particularly at the end is really ropey. Okay, so you’re not really going to make it look as good as the original when they used actual skeletons, but physical effects often trump what computers do. When you are living up to the effects from an original, I think filmmakers really should reconsider what I feel is the easy option.

Final Thoughts

A brilliant vehicle for Sam Rockwell to demonstrate his acting range. It cleans up the plot from the original and gives the audience some excellent character development.

Poltergeist iii (1988)

Rating 15

Length 1Hr 38

Release 23.9.1988

About Psychically attuned youngster Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) is sent to live in Chicago with her Uncle Bruce (Tom Skerritt) and Aunt Pat (Nancy Allen). But that doesn’t mean that she’s escaped the apparitions that have haunted her in the past. When she starts experiencing terrifying visions, her school psychologist believes that they’re figments of her imagination. But this becomes hard to believe when ghostly foes start inhabiting the mirrors in her relatives’ high-rise apartment.

Treat

  • The music is even more sinister than the other two movies. I found that this score fitted the franchise the best outside the reboot.
  • It has a feel of the novel High-Rise from 1975. Okay, so this has it isolated to the one family and minimal connected people, but the same atmosphere is developed.
  • Again, this film does more to retrospectively explain the franchise. While ordinarily this would be a trick, I like how it brings the whole thing together.
  • The use of mirrors is quite incredible and effective. It helps this edition stand out from the others.
  • While I hate the scene, the meat locker scene is undeniably well made and successfully creeped the crap out of me.

Trick

  • While I love Bruce as a character and how he reacts to the situation, does he really have to have such a similar job to Steven.
  • I don’t know how I feel about the fact that the husband, Bruce, shows more defection to Carole Ann that Pat, who is the girl’s aunt. Also, Pat… you clearly never watched Eastenders because there’s no way you’d be bitching about being called Trish.
  • Again with the rapey “He wants Carole Ann now, before she grows up.”
  • This has some of the worst acting out of the trilogy and unfortunately, Zelda’s Tangina is a little too hammed up to enjoy her presence. Well, its that and the fact that she spends most of the time rubbing the vulva necklace for its ‘power’.
  • While I’m on that necklace that Pat almost looses fifty million fucking times. Have you forgotten that you have a perfect fucking place to put it so you can use both fucking hands to fight off Pastor Kane?!
  • Finally, the plot doesn’t make any sense. You’ve lost your daughter to the Other Side on TWO occasions yet you’re going to pack her off to live with someone else. Even though you’ve been told its your love that protects her?! Fuck off!

Final Thoughts

A very interesting concept, but its execution is way off.