Roma: True Art in black and white. 

     Here’s my review on the multi award winning film Roma. I am a big fan of Alfonso Cuaron’s previous work and this film does not disappoint. Beautifully directed and taking the lead in the cinematography, Alfonso produced one of the most gorgeous pieces of film footage I’ve ever seen. 

     The black and white choice in my opinion representing the polar extremes of the lead character who views her outlook on the world as black and white, right and wrong. This combined with long one shot scenes that built unyielding tension that then often switched to many camera shots in quick succession kept the viewer restless and uneasy. 

    The story evolves around a white privileged family in Mexico who’s children are raised by a Mexican au pair from whose point of view we see most of the film. The stark juxtaposition of the two classes and quality of life were made most apparent when the two women’s story lines were so similar in tragedy and traumatic circumstances . 

     Having said all that, this style of film is not what I jump out of bed and run to the cinema for. In fact if truth be told I only watched this film after it won best picture and even then I couldn’t help thinking ‘ah shit, I guess I’ve got to watch this now.’ In my opinion there are films made for entertainment and films made for art and this was most certainly the latter, and whilst I’m happy that a film in a foreign language is doing so well at the academy awards (especially being Mexican in the current Trumpy climate) it doesn’t fill me with excitement, so I probably won’t be watching it again. 

      As it’s on Netflix and has the acclaim that it does this is a firm recommendation from me. I would give this film a 8.1/10 because as I said as much as I appreciate the artistry behind this film I can’t go as far as to say I really enjoyed it as there were long stylistic sequences that left me a little cold.

     Some exciting news tagged onto the end of this review is we’ve got our teaser trailer for our upcoming The Reel Easy Podcast. Please follow the link below, have a listen and let us know what you think!

https://soundcloud.com/user-737863718/the-reel-easy-podcast-trailer 

I’ve been Christopher Whitmore, thank you for reading and listening. 

Valentine’s Day film recommendations!

     So the holiday of romance is around the corner and I’m sure a few of you like me enjoy curling up with your respective partners to watch a good movie, so here are a few of my recommendations to ummmmm whet your appetite .... too much? .... thought so.

     Look I know many people like to sit down and watch a good classic, your Notebooks, Richard Curtis shortlist, Pretty Woman, John Cusack or Patrick Swayze catalogues, Casablanca, Brief Encounter or one of my favourites Bridget Jones. BUT I’d like to give you some alternatives in case you’re a bit bored of those although then again quite frankly, you may not give a damn. 

      Now unfortunately the new releases at the cinema haven’t really gone for romance this year unless you count animated sequels like 'Lego Movie 2' and 'How to Train Your Dragon 3', so I’d advise an evening in.

      Some of the more serious romantic films that I can recommend that you may not have thought of are: 

Silver Linings Playbook: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Laurence and Robert De Niro.

Two people who suffer from mental health

difficulties find and help each other in this 

touching romantic drama. 

Her: Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson

A lonely man seeks companionship with a new

operating system that learns how to be human and

more through the love found between this

unlikely couple. 

Brokeback Mountain: Heath Leger, Jake Gyllenhaal and Ann Hatheway.

In a time and location where society violently rejects homosexuality these two men battle with their emotions to find peace with each other on the side of a mountain.When returning home they must chose between their old lives or their new 'forbidden' love. 

 The Big Sick: Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan

A stand up comic falls in love with a grad student whobecomes ill and falls into a deep coma. Kumail tries to balance the two clashing cultures of his traditional Muslim upbringing and his girlfriends distraught western parents. 

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind: Jim Carey and Kate Winslet.

Two heartbroken ex lovers go through a dramatic

procedure to erase all memories of their failed 

relationship.  

     Granted these are all old movies you’ve probably watched before but they are all favourites of mine and get a solid 9/10 or higher in my book, so I think they are worth a re-watch.

If you’re in a more lighthearted mood I recommend: 

Man Up: Simon Pegg and Lake Bell 

A misconstrued blind date gets out of hand when 

Lake Bel decides to go along with it. After Simon 

Pegg finds out it was all a lie can he 'Man Up' 

and continue their endearing relationship. 

What If: Zoe Kazan and Daniel Radcliffe. 

When the whole world seems to be in the

perfect relationship Dan finds himself in the

'friend zone' and unrequitedly in love with Zoe.

Can he find his way out of the deep friendship

he has fallen into.  

Love, Rosie: Lily Collins and Sam Claflin. 

 Two life long friends that have a unspoken love and connection navigate their way through misunderstandings and missed opportunities. After drifting apart they find their way back to each other, but has their relationship changed?

Crazy, Stupid, Love: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Julianne Moore.

When Steve finds out his wife is cheating on him he goes on a soul searching quest to find out what he has lost within himself so he can reunite with his estranged wife. He meets ladies man Ryan Gosling who is willing to help him find his lost mojo. 

Warm Bodies: Teresa Palmer and Nicholas Hoult.

 Simply put, can you find love after death? Nicholas Hoult tries to answer this deep and slightly comical question when he falls in love with Teresa Palmer.  

       There are some random ones in there and I know some people won’t agree that all of these are good films but I enjoyed them all immensely. 

      Right here goes putting my new movie critic reputation on the line with my top movie recommendation for this Valentines which is a bit of a curve ball but bare with me here because you’re in for a treat....

      Story time, one evening my girlfriend and I were too tired to choose a film so we picked the next film that came up on Now Tv. This just so happened ‘Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates’ starring Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Price .... again stay with me. Now I know what you’re thinking. 1, that’s really not a catchy title at all and 2, that’s a very hit and miss cast, but trust me everyone this movie is a hit. But let’s get real, I’m not pretending you’ll be blown away by it or it’s the next ‘10 Things I hate about you’ (classic) but my girlfriend and I didn’t stop laughing all the way through. The four actors worked so well together to create such great comedy moments with a stand out hilarious performance by Anna Kendrick (with a horse) and the film does exactly what it says on the tin (aka reread film title). It was so good that Niamh and have tried on many occasions to reenact this miraculous finding by sticking on other random Rom-Coms we’ve not heard of but to no avail. So if you watch it and hate it you may hold me accountable for ruining your Valentines Day but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. 

So there you have it, my recommendations for this years love fest and I hope you enjoy it.

I've been Christopher Whitmore, thanks for reading.

  STAN & OLLIE: There are no elephants in this film.     

 ‘Stan and Ollie’ was the most gentle, lovely and old school style of film I’ve seen in a very long time.This slow paced jaunt down memory lane of the perhaps lesser known, later courier of Laurel and Hardy, was not only a lovely testimony of both their lives and their massive contribution to the industry, but also the style of film itself. 

       There were many references to Laurel and Hardy style skits and routines throughout the film. The one that springs to mind was when they were dragging a very heavy suitcase all the way up the stairs between them to then miscommunicate, drop it, and watch it roll all the way back down. These classic slapstick moments coupled with the real rehearsed gags we saw the two perform on stage gave me a warm, almost sad and moving feeling of a beautiful art the we have perhaps lost in the fast paced comedy we have now in the 21st century. “They just don’t make 'em like that anymore.” I hear my father say, but thankfully with ‘Stan and Ollie’ they have.

       John C Riley is a perfect example of this problem in cinema. Here’s a man who can act the pants off anyone in the room but chooses to be in these trashy ‘Will Ferrell’ type comedies (Holmes and Watson) that one would probably count as more ‘mainstream.’ Steve Coogan was a very brilliant Stan Laurel and did I great impression of him, but John C Riley WAS Oliver Hardy! The question here is why lower yourself to a mediocre (at best) standard? If it’s money driven then more money needs to be ploughed into better films. 

       The real stars of the show for me however were the very humorous and long suffering wives of the two hapless comics. Played by the marvellous Shirley Henderson and the surprise gem for me Nina Arianda, these two brilliant actress' repartee, chemistry and strength brought the film to life for me. Such well written wit and comic timing, the two begrudging friends had me laughing throughout and then close to tears in the final moments of the film. A real joy to watch and their performance alone make this film unmissable for me. 

       Another delightful performance that had me smirking was by another relatively unknown actor to me, Rufus Jones, playing Stan and Ollie’s producer, the famous Bernard Delfont, Rufus really captured the two faced manner of the character exceptionally and to anyone who knows the industry well the way he told Stan and Ollie everything they ‘wanted’ to hear and still get his own way was played to perfection assisted by the superb writing of Jeff Pope. 

       The only reason I don’t give this film 10/10 is the fact that due to the style of the film some moments did drag. Now I’m very aware it’s my own short coming as an audience member having been over stimulated by new releases that tell their stories at a far more fast and furious rate, but I couldn’t help feeling it was a bit dull in the first parts of the film.

       I therefore would give this film a 8.4/10 and I urge everyone to watch this truly wonderful tribute to a beautiful era of cinema and these two great men.

       I've been Christopher Whitmore, thank you for reading.

MARY POPPINS RETURNS: Spit spot on!

      Contrary to some of the reviews I’ve read from other critics I very much enjoyed ‘Mary Poppins Returns’. 

      There were some bugbears like the casting of Ben Wishaw and Julie Walters together smacked too much of 'Paddington' for me to a degree that took me out of "Mary Poppins Land" into 'Paddington' on a few occasions. We have more actors than that Bernard Tesley (Casting Director) let’s branch out a bit, it’s just lazy casting. 

      However, on the whole ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ was a great, nostalgic throw back to everyone’s childhood that the movie captured with, personally, a delightful satisfaction. 

      Emily Blunt was a stunning Mary and at no point did I think "Oh. Dear. She’s no Julie Andrews". Emily had the ‘practically perfect’ slightly arrogant vanity of Poppins spot on. The rye smiles and eye rolling attitude was as funny as ever with children and adult characters alike, and you can tell she worked very hard on her kite dismount which I greatly appreciated. 

      I also appreciated the work of Lin-Manuel Miranda, who had to tread the difficult line of playing Bert, the role originated by Dick Van Dyke, made tricky by paying homage to the terrible, yet iconic accent without making it too laughable. This Mr Miranda pulled off well in my opinion and his relationship with Jane Banks (Emily Mortimer) was just the right amount of ‘throw up in bucket’ sweet for 'Mary Poppins'. 

     The children in this film were brilliant (and barely annoying at all!) although, the two older kids were fairly unbelievable as actual nine year olds and were written as mini adults, which I guess was "kinda cute." 

     

     Colin Firth as the unscrupulous baddy and Meryl Streep as Mary Poppins’ .... cousin? ... okay ... made their appearances to boost the star studded line up and were just fine if I’m being completely honest. 

     The use of CGI and the blend of cartoon world with live actors was very beautifully done; I feel the style of 'Mary Poppins' does lend itself very well to this level of production value and the various worlds that Mary and the children found themselves in benefitted greatly from impressive CGI landscapes. 

     Overall I’d give this film a 7.6/10. The plot was simple, as it should be, and on the whole I felt far happier leaving the cinema than I did when I entered which is all you can wish from a good film, really. I thoroughly recommend a family trip out to see this one.

     If you liked this review or want to share with me your thoughts on 'Mary Poppins Returns' please do comment below. I appreciate feedback and any recommendations for films you think I need to watch and review.

     You can listen to more on this film from me and Sam Adamson, co- founder of The Reel Easy and fellow film buff, on The Reel Easy Podcast that’s going to be launched soon! 

     I've been Christopher Whitmore, thank you for reading.

      

WELCOME TO MARWEN; Population .... Many Dolls. 

      Here’s my review on 'Welcome To Marwen.' A film that may have slipped under the radar for many of you so here's my two sense on it so you can decide whether or not to give it a go . 

      Now I can't say I didn’t like it but then again I can’t really go as far as to say I liked it either. I had no expectations when going in and found I’d gleaned very little on my way out.

      It was a nice enough film, Steve Carell can do very little wrong in my eyes at the moment and his portrayal of Mark Hogancamp was sweet and just the right amount of creepy to keep the plot moving and to keep you guessing. I think the transition between worlds was done very well, with each character point brought up in the model world then justified later in the real world. I just wish it had been stop motion animation rather than heavy CGI. I think Stop motion would have been more endearing to the 'Indie' old fashioned aesthetic this film has, whereas CGI being the modern paintbrush that is, didn’t marry well with the tonality for me. 

     I wasn’t sure about the message of the film either. (Spoiler) At the end of the film Mark denounces the drugs that had taken control of his life for the last few years. However the other characters in the film made it very clear on doctors orders that he needed to take one a day, and yes he was taking far more than that so it’s good that he stopped, but I’m not sure the message should have been stop all drugs, just listen to your doctor would have been a better message in my opinion. 

    I would give this film 6.8/10. Watchable but I wouldn’t rush to the cinema to see it. 

    Shorter review today, sometimes it’s nice to keep things succinct. But if you want to hear more on Welcome To Marwen, Sam and I talk about it in our first episode of The Reel Easy Podcast which is to be launched soon! Let me know what you think and comment any recommendations below.

   I've been Christopher Whitmore, thanks for reading.