Movie Review #863 GREEN BOOK.

This year’s Best Movie Oscar winner is an excellent essay on separatism based in 1962 deep south of America. Having not 20yrs before defeated the last of Nazi anti-semitism, America still struggles with its own racial issues as New York club bouncer Tony ‘Lip’ Vallelonga is hired to drive African-American concert pianist ‘Doc’ Don Shirley through a two month tour across locations sure to stir southern sentiments.

Tony is on the edges of the mob & the Doc a musical artisan who doesn’t fit in to either the black or white worlds so with the Driving Miss Daisy reversal, the initial friction continues to parlay, exacerbated by Tony’s uncouth outlook sparring with the Doc’s refinement.

But, as with all Hollywood buddy outings, events transpire to bring the chaps together, both saving each other’s bacon a few times and finally understanding why each is as they are.

The symbolism of the green book in the title is quite subtle and not a key fixture of the proceedings however when Doc experiences a number of other prejudices, it’s brought nicely into perspective.

Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are both superb in the lead saddles, the former particularly effective as an Italian slouch while Ali is reminiscent of Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem in Coming To America. And the music is to die for; a beautiful blend of classical and jazz nicely rendered on piano, cello & double bass.

As thought provoking as it is entertaining, for me it’s a 9/10. 

Movie Review #3965 STAN AND OLLIE.

Sentimental biopic based on Laurel & Hardy’s final tour of the UK in 1953. Well past their heyday, the chaps are booked on a tour that sees them barely reaching half concert hall capacities while chasing a movie deal that will hopefully put them back on top.

Usual partner tensions arise amidst quarreling between respective spouses with the inevitable parting of ways and subsequent reconciliation pretty predictable. John C Reilly and Steve Coogan were I thought great in the lead slots and based on the latter’s portrayal of Stan Laurel, it’s easy to see where Michael Crawford might have got his Frank Spencer from.

A bit tedious to in parts and somewhat verbose when perhaps a more straightforward approach might have sufficed.

Nevertheless quite entertaining for this critic who would p*ss himself laughing at the antics of these two in the old black-and-white featurettes playing before the Saturday afternoon movie matinee. 7/10

Movie Review #7532 COLD PURSUIT.

Just when we thought yet another Liam Neeson ‘special set of skills’ has an outing, this black comedy shows up.

Coen-esque with a dash of Tarantino on top, it’s violent but not overly so as everyone’s favourite Irish leading man is a Colorado snow plough driver who’s only offspring manages to get himself entangled in the local drug scene.

Working his way up the chain of command, dispatching thugs as he goes, Mr Neeson finally homes in on the top guy which is where things start to go a bit awry. Add a local Indian tribe as an opposing drug arm plus a local bushy tailed policewoman into the mix as well as a pro hitman and the chain of fortuitous events culminate as expected in a major blood bath in the snow.

I like Liam Neeson as an actor and he carries off this dark comedy well by playing it quite straight, leaving the comic turns to a few key scenes and a few one liners from unexpected sources. Surprisingly entertaining and a pleasant deviation from that expected despite the copious quantities of bad guys dispatched.

Does build nicely towards the end and leaving early will screw the whole thing. 8/10.

Movie Review #7321. THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD.

Peter Jackson continues with his WWI love affair with this documentary film using digitally restored and colourised footage. The result is quite spectacular and almost looks like a modern day re-enactment except that it’s not.

Starts and ends with original variable speed, black-and-white takes for contrast and while the background soundtrack is a modern day overdub, the commentaries along the way are not. Content is raw and uncompromising, showing the stark brutality of a war that for the first time was not fought according to Queensbury Rules.

We also get a full frontal reminder that these were men with lives, dreams and aspirations like any of us, not merely images on 100 year old film while their treatment upon demobilisation was nothing short of disgusting.

Forget all other WWI docos you might have seen, think you’ll find this one trumps them all however I’m not going to rate it as it seems inappropriate to associate it with entertainment.

I also understand that Mr Jackson’s next project is another doco job around the final years of The Beatles, will certainly be looking forward to that!

Movie Review #6356 : JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN.

Third in Rowan Atkinson’s Johnny English franchise and by far the funniest, in a funny sorta way. The first was fresh and new, the second more controlled and this one certainly ups the frequency and amusement factor of the gags.

Unlike many of this ilk, there are more good bits than we see in the trailer as English gets up to his usual antics as British Intelligence superklutz. Back is sidekick Bough who was disappointingly missing from #2 and it’s his and Atkinson’s playing off against each other that really hits the spot.

Bad dude is wanting to rule the world and exposes all of MI7’s operatives leaving our man Johnny as the last and only hope. Of course there is the pretty girl, the fast car, the crazy gadgets and English’s perennial propensity to not only cock things up but also come out the other side smelling of roses.

Has parallels with #1 but avoids most of that movie’s silliness and instead puts Johnny as a more than capable agent who still screws up from time to time, well quite often really. I believe there is to be a #4 so will be interesting to see whether Atkinson follows the same gradual role reversal between himself and Bough as he did with Blackadder and Baldrick in the Blackadder series.

8.5/10
 

Movie Review #8257 CHRISTOPHER ROBIN.

Obi Wan Kenobi is the title character in this cutesy tale of CR all growed up & seemingly having forgotten about all his pals back at Hundred Acre woods.

Pooh decides to go looking & finds him embroiled in the corporate world of post-war London, having acquired wife & daughter along the way. Events turn though and Obi Wan is soon back with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore, with his family not too far behind.

Should have been great but gets confused as to whether it’s a kids movie with something for the adults or vice versa.

First half is a little tedious but definitely improves especially after daughter takes central stage. CGI for the animals is great though with Tigger bouncing off everything and the Eeyore voicing exactly how I imagined as a kid. I was never a huge CR fan but did find the books amusing when read to me at school.

Ewan MacGregor though is better in StarWars type outings and the rest of the cast seem fairly routine.

Overall 6.5/10. 

Movie Review #9254 LADIES IN BLACK.

Set in 1959 Sydney, delightful coming of age story told around the experiences of young, bright high school graduate Lisa, who lands a temporary job in the women’s department of a large department store.

She’s pretty naïve but soon learns the ropes from the store’s seasoned campaigners and some of their stories too are interwoven nicely into the proceedings. Its light-hearted as the characters are explored and their pasts and future expectations examined with slight commentaries of prejudice, sex, immigration and relationships dealt with in a compassionate manner without resorting to self-pity or activism.

Also a fabulous portrayal of that era Sydney complete with trams, old cars, fashions, music and the general sense of conservatism being disrupted by some pretty forward continentals. I’m sure the cast is well known in Australian film circles but none of them registered with me, all however were more than adequate with Julia Ormond doing a nice turn as a European matchmaking matriarch who takes Lisa under wing and teaches her the rules.

So yes, it’s another chick flick but this bloke thoroughly enjoyed it, despite its anti-thriller disposition.

7.5:10. 
 

Movie Review #936 THE PREDATOR.

Latest in the chain mail of Predator movies has the ugly b*ggers back for more, this time going up against a cast of unknowns led by an army sniper who witnesses the crash landing of a predator spacecraft. He then inadvertently involves is his young son, setting the scene for another perpetual monster chase that doesn’t really lift any games.

Acquiring a ragtag bunch of misfits along the way + a school science teacher, the merry troop proceed to try to figure out why these rotten things have come back while staying one step ahead of them and the supposedly official army unit assigned to track down both the aliens and the rogues. Lots of blood and guts as the aliens get pissed at us pathetic humans, lots of things blowing up, lots of wasted bullets and other ammo and an alien pooch that sort of turns turncoat.

The original Predator movie from the late 80s was yet another vehicle for a muscle-bound Arnold Schwarzenegger to jump around the jungle in somewhat cornball fashion but at least at the time it was scary, well sort of. This one is more of a thriller than a scarefest and while it is a sequel rather than a remake, it just doesn’t have the charm of the original. CGI effects as usual are great but the story is lightweight and disjointed and the cast very much just adequate to make it just entertaining.

6.5/10