Devoid of colour, a feeling of real gloom, and the inevitable passing of a loved one. Maggie is more a film about terminal illness in the family rather than the zombie apocalypse.
A viral outbreak that causes humans to slowly degenerate into flesh eating zombies over the course of 8 weeks has hit the planet. Crops are being burnt as a way of trying to restore agriculture, quarantines are set up to euthenise the infected in a humane manner and work on a cure is pointless. The whole world seems bleak and this is reflected in the cinematography. There are many shots of landscapes, the family home and the colours are brown, grey, dull and paletteless, yet there always seems to be a splash of colour somewhere as if there is a glimmer of hope.
When Wade's (Schwarzenegger's) daughter is bit by an infected, he is given the option to take her home and care for her before quarantine, but knowing that the inevitable is on the horizon, Wade opts to care for her till the last moment. Knowing that his daughter is dying and trying to give her the best possible "end-of-life". She goes out with friends for a final party and one of the other kids is also infected, there is a pretty gruesome scene with appendage decay but it is handled well, and as Maggie (Abigail Breslin) reaches the final stages of her life and the contagion becomes a threat to the family, Wade has to question his motives.
Abigail Breslin is brilliant as usual and with her there are no faults, Joely Richardson plays her step mother and where I thought she would be running away from Maggie she always seems to be running towards her helping, although, she has not aged well. It has been a while since I have seen a film with Joely, but I was a little shocked. The only flaw, and believe me I am a massive fan, was Mr Schwarzengger himself, not his acting, because he pulls out all the stops to get it right, and does. Arnold is a big, hulking Austrian with a thick Austrian accent, he himself does not fit into the American farming family and the character of Wade could have been played by any other actor, I am at a loss as to why Mr. S was chosen apart from having a big name attached to the property.
Maggie was a moving film for me, I knew from going into the cinema that it was not going to be a zombie film and this helped me prepare. Upon leaving, the two guys in front of me exclaimed, "Well, that was sh*t".
Zombie fans need stay away, this is not your type of film.
Freddy has his glove, Jason has his machete, Charlie has his noose. If you are going to reference classic, nostalgic, horror films in your trailer, then you have big boots to fill.
20 years after a horrific accident during a school play, students at the same high school resurrect the failed show in a misguided attempt to honour the anniversary of the tragedy, but is there a presence lurking in the background with ulterior motives?
I saw the trailer below whilst watching Knock Knock and I will be honest to say, it freaked me out a little, it look very spooky. The lighting was great, the heavy breathing and tone reminded me of The Blair Witch Project (for me, the film that started all this found footage horror - I know it was Cannibal Holocaust, but BWP put the genre mainstream). I was excited to go see the film, but then there is the trailer quotes, "Scared the living hell outta me" and "So Scary....it's hard to watch" which always fill me with trepidation that the quote is taken out of context or "one person said it so we can use it".
The first character we meet, Ryan, who is the camera man, is one of the most unlikable characters ever. He is a bully to everyone and I was hoping for him to meet his maker within minutes of the film starting. I am unsure if this is the intention as it was played for laughs to start with, but his girlfriend is very similar and the main character who is playing the unfortunate role in the play is again, dull. boring and pointless. In fact, I was hoping for them all not to make it to the first act!
As for "Charlie", when you relate him to classics such as Jason, Freddy and Micheal I expect something, I want something memorable. These three have been around for nearly 40 years and their names are iconic and rarely matched, and Charlie does not come close.
The Blumhouse trademark jump scare was evident throughout and had very little impact, and the infamous Paranormal Activity bass line before every attempt made it even more comical.
8 out of the 12 people in the cinema walked out of the showing and I endured it to the end only because I am a fan of film and horror, but there were a few moment I considered following them
With script changes, director changes and all manner of issues in the production of this film, and the fact that Clare had stated from the first trailer that she didn't like the lead actor, we went into Antman with trepidation.
From the moment the film started, all the worry and anxiety towards the final product disappeared.
Antman is an absolute delight to watch. It fits in with the Marvel Universe well (which is why director Edgar Wright left) referencing many moments and even with a very entertaining cameo of one of the New Avengers. The origin story flows well and has great characters throughout. One thing I was not expecting to do was laugh as much as I did. There are many moments that warranted a real good belly laugh, mainly down to Micheal Pena's character.
Antman has been hailed as a heist movie with the main plot around stealing a mcguffin that will help them break into an impenetrable fortress to steal another mcguffin, but it feels like a good, solid superhero MCU film as well.
Unfortunately, the bad guy falls into the usual MCU issues, the heroes are really entertaining and great to watch where as the bad guys are just run-of-the-mill, bad because i'm bad. Marvel has some really good bad guys, but they just don't seem to come across on screen as well.
The "big" battle towards the end of the film is an absolute riot, with the Thomas the Tank Engine cameo (from the trailer) playing a hilarious threat
There are a few easter eggs in the film for the MCU geeks, from Spiderman to Hulk and the Avengers. Also, make sure you stay through the credits till the end, there is a mid credit sequence and then a brief glimpse at a future MCU film at the very end.
The 3D worked well, as it was not a distraction for me, and actually added to the film. I forgot I had the glasses on at certain points (which based on my Jurassic World review is a big thing).
Micheal Douglas fits in really well with the story and seems to bring his usual acting chops, not just phoning in the performance just because he is a big name.
I can definitely recommend Antman as a film to watch at the cinema and even in 3D if you don't mind paying the extra £££'s
I had seen Magic Mike a few years ago at the request of my lovely wife Clare. Thinking it would be the female equivalent of Showgirls I was not expecting much. Believe me, the delight that we both watched that night surprised us both. Very funny, great characters, well acted and Channing Tatum! oh and lots of Abs and Pecks and Gluts!
Upon seeing the trailer for Magic Mike XXL I was a little concerned that the magic from the first film would not carry over. Did Channing still have it? With Dallas (McConaughey) and the Kid not returning for this one, could the rest of the cast support? And with there being such a great story line (I'm not joking) in the first one, would the second outing have enough interest?
Magic Mike XXL picks up a few years after the end of the first film with Mike as an owner of his own (very small) business away from male entertainment, when the old crew catch up with him and hint that they are all going to "Stripper-Con" for the weekend on a road trip. What is it with sequels and road trips? It felt like the Barden Bella's all over again, we need to do the same but bigger and louder, with more gyration and grinding...ok so that last bit is unique to Mike and the Gang.
Mike XXL had some great moments in it similar to the original, when the gang are just sat around talking, they are entertaining enough to listen to, the Queen Dance off raised a smile and the moves in Mrs Pinkett-Smith's house forced two old ladies in the cinema to leave in disgust.
It is still entertaining but nowhere near the original, and maybe a few years too late to capture on the hype of the original. I heard a few male chortles for further back in the cinema so there were other gentlemen enjoying the show as well as me, so don't be shy...although going on your own may raise an eyebrow or two.
One last little highlight for me was hearing John Williams' Duel of the Fates (The Darth Maul music from The Phantom Menace) being used as one of the stripping song, there is hope for us geeks!
Clare commented as we were leaving that is was quite raunchy and there were a few scenes to which she felt slightly embarrassed as leather clad hunks gyrate, grind and provocatively gesture to their adoring lady fans.
That being said, for us mere mortal men, I did feel the need to go to the gym right after this film as my six pack is still a work in progress....a long way off! and Mr Tatum can seriously move!
Listen and understand! That Terminator is out there! It's can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with, it doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear, and it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead........unless there is some serious bond villain-esque exposition and repeat dialogue it needs to get across, then it will just meander and chat away, and probably bore you to death!
I would say "Warning, Spoilers Ahead", but the trailers for this film have done that anyway!
I had heard a couple of reviews of Terminator Genisys before going to see the film, and none of them were overly positive. Yet, I began to question to critics view, I was really enjoying the film. It starts with atmosphere-sucking Jai Courtney repeating Sarah Connor's lines from the first film, and then mirrors yet changes the first 20 minutes from Terminator. It explains why the T-800 arrives in 1984 in a kneeing position whilst Kyle Reese lands with a bang, it plays well on the nostalgia of the original and then throws another few terminators into the mix, the twist on Sarah Connor is great, even though the explanation really needs some work, I was thinking maybe the critics were being a little harsh on Genisys. Then it all went wrong!
When our band of heroes move forward to 2017 and John Connor Terminator is introduced the film just lost all atmosphere, excitement and thrill and just became a run of the mill, exposition led, CGI filled, confused with it's own continuity, mess of a film.
Jai Courtney managed to suck the life out of every scene in a way only he can and Jason Clarke's new and improved Terminator was just not menacing at all. In the first two films Arnold and Robert Patrick have very few lines of dialogue, they are relentless, they walk into a room and shoot first and don't ask questions, even the terrible terminatrix from "Rise of the Machines" does not stop for a chat. The fact that the John Connor-bot continues to repeat the same lines over and over and gives the rebels his full backstory, plans for the future and how he is going to do everything just takes the impact and power out of the character.
There were many points during Genisys that I felt bored, and at some of these points there was a lot of action happening on screen. The CGI helicopter chase, the CGI Jurassic Park 2 bus scene, the CGI final big battle, just not interesting. When you have seen practical effects and CGI combined with such impact as in Mad Max Fury Road, then these efforts just really stand out. The main plot changer from the start of the film that a Terminator was sent back to when Sarah Connor was a 9 year old and "Pops" was also sent back to protect is never explained, who sent them? Also, going on Back to the Future's Doc Brown theory "I foresee two possibilities. One, coming face to face with yourself would put you into shock and you'd simply pass out, or two, the encounter could create a time paradox, the results of which could cause a chain reaction that would unravel the very fabric of the space time continuum, and destroy the entire universe!"
I went in with low expectations for the film, hoping that they may be raised to just mediocre expectations. Unfortunately, Genisys had so much potential to start with, but it's battery just ran out too soon.
Arnold on the other hand was great!
and yes, there is a mid credit sequence to set up the next film!
But, don't just take my word for it!
Guest Review: The Film Lord
Terminator Genysis leaves me with a conundrum, how I feel about this film?
Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day are two of the greatest sci-fi (and in the case of the first Horror) films of all time. Now before seeing Genysis I’d already made up my mind that I didn’t like the casting of Sarah Conner or Kyle Reese. I also had no expectations that the film was going to hold up to the originals, I mean how could they. No all I needed was fun. Just give me 2 hours of Arnold being the Terminator and my nostalgia will do the rest.
And did it deliver? Well at this point I’ve had around 12 hours to think about it and I can whole-heartedly say HELL YESS it did.
What Terminator Genysis does so well is not only does it know how to play with your nostalgia but also how to layer its own story on top. It manages to do what many sequels forget to and that’s simply have fun…….. For about 30 minutes.
Then the second act begins and frankly what’s the point, if you’ve seen a film in the last ten years then you’ve seen everything Terminator has to offer. Also about this Terminator, remember in the original film when Kyle and Sarah were actually running for their life, trying desperately to stay ahead of this unstoppable killing machine. Well not in Genysis , no this Terminator willingly shows up every few minutes so our heroes can pump a few rounds of ammunition into him. No tension, no suspense and no sense of danger just “Hello did you really think, blah, blah blah” and yes with the amount of monologuing he insists on doing I was hoping at some point he’d kill them just so he’d shut up.
That being said the biggest issue this film has, apart from Jai Courtney, is for some reason they don’t explain the films central premise. To have to main crux of your movie be “someone sent a Terminator back before the events of the first film” only to then not actually tell you the identity of that “someone” is an insult to the viewer. That would be bad enough on it’s own but the film is littered with so many massive plot holes I can only assume the writer gave up trying to have it all make sense.
As for the casting well Arnold is the Terminator, plain and simple, yes his acting has gotten worse but when did you watch an Arnold film for acting. Emilia Clarke is no Linda Hamilton but she does fine with the little she has to do. Jai Courtney is well Jai Courtney if he’s not going to display an emotion then neither will I. As for Jason Clarke I don’t get him, he’s a serviceable actor but it say’s a lot when your main “bad guy” Terminator is upstaged by the one you throwaway in the first act (shout out to Lee Byung-hun)
Now it may sound like I hated the movie, I didn’t, I liked the premise, some of the action scenes were okay (some terrible granted) I laughed at the silly one liners, JK Simmons brief appearance was fun and it was great seeing Arnold being the Terminator again. It’s just such a shame because I do feel in places there’s been an actual attempt to make something more than your standard blockbuster only to then fall into the same modern movie tropes.
Also note to all screenwriters, directors and movies bosses, cleaners, caterers and so on…. big overblown CGI endings aren’t as impressive as you think they are.
So how do I feel about this film? I honestly don’t know....
