THEGAYUK

Tag: Film Review

All the latest film reviews for LGBT themed films and others.

  • FILM REVIEW | Captain America Civil War

    FILM REVIEW | Captain America Civil War

    CAPTAIN AMERICA : CIVIL WAR – Every Superhero you have ever heard off in one big motherfrigging fall out and take down.

    Photo Credit: Zade Rosenthal..© Marvel 2016

    Photo Credit: Film Frame.© Marvel 2016

    Nutshell – The third pure Captain film asks the basic question are you Team Captain or Team Iron Man. Half of Marvel’s finest decide, after a recent accident, that they should be governed and regulated whilst the other half think they should remain free agents. Old favourites return, new heroes are introduced and all hell breaks loose in the many action scenes leading up to the ultimate Superhero showdown of all time.

    Time – 147 mins; Certificate – 12A

    Tagline – ‘Whose Side Are You On’.

    THE GAY UK FACTOR – Are you serious ? More hot men in Spandex than you will see in a whole season of the Tour De France. Our favourite Chris Evans who plays the lead is just a great horny looking guy that draws your eye from all the other hunk talent on show and he has an ass to die for plus great biceps in close up in the key helicopter sequence.

    Photo Credit: Film Frame..© Marvel 2016

    Photo Credit: Film Frame.© Marvel 2016

    Cast –  Captain America/Chris Evans, Iron Man/Robert Downey Jnr, Scarlett Johansson/Black Widow, Paul Rudd/AntMan, Tom Holland/Spiderman, Jeremy Renner/ Hawkey, Paul Bettany/Vision plus William Hurt, Marisa Tomei and Martin Freeman.

    Key Player –  Falcon comes off best he just swoops around disposing of the bad guys with pure cool and he has a mega-cool drone called Redwing which in the comics was a real (Falcon) bird.

    Budget – No surprise that this cost a lot – $250 million. This is of course safe territory it covered its costs in just six days. It is now heading for the top after chart toppers of 2016, Zootopia and The Jungle Book to become the biggest movie of the year, we guess it will finish up making about $800 million.

    Best Bit – 1.30 mins; The two team-ups have been building for a while but when they finally come face to face in a German airport you get the best scene of the year so far.

    Worst Bit – 1.35 mins; It is not bad just an obvious plot twist so that the tiny Ant Man can pull his weight fighting other superheroes equally it seems shoehorned in to even the teams-up.

    Little Secret – This is the longest ever Marvel film and the 13th in the studio’s master plan. Chris Evans suffered a severe arm injury in the helicopter sequence but the close up muscles are all him with no photo shop whatsoever on his massive wanking arm.

    Movie Mistake – In the final fight Iron Man’s helmet keeps appearing and disappearing similar to the windscreen that Captain smashes in the big vehicle chase.

    Awards – Nothing between now and October is going for awards this is going for cash and lots of it.

    Further Viewing – Captain America 1 & 2, Avengers 1 & 2, Spiderman’s 1 through 3, Ant Man, Thor, 8 Batmans, 7 Supermans and maybe a few more superhero films for good measure.

    Any Good – Abso-damn-lutely. This is real boys own stuff and maybe the best Marvel film yet. This is well plotted with endless superb action a great cast, funny lines and a script Christopher Nolan would be proud of. See in IMAX or 3D if possible.

    Rating – 7/100 (7th out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being best and 100 being a damn squib).

     

    Order from Amazon Prime | Amazon | iTunes

  • FILM REVIEW | Florence Foster Jenkins – Some Of The Right Notes In All The Wrong Places

    FILM REVIEW | Florence Foster Jenkins – Some Of The Right Notes In All The Wrong Places

    ★★★★★ | Florence Foster Jenkins

    CREDIT: Pathe

    Meryl Streep shines in this touching tribute to the eccentricities of an ageing heiress.

    Meryl Streep once again proves that she is one of the world’s greatest actors. This time Streep takes on the role of Florence Foster Jenkins, the ‘world’s worst opera singer’, who was a rich New York heiress who lived from 1868 to 1944.

    Florence Foster Jenkins was an incredibly successful performer within her own Vaudeville circuit, owning the audience with her incredible tableaux’s. However  she feels that her musicality (she was a child prodigy piano player, until illness robbed her of her ability to use her left hand) is being stymied. The larger than life character of Foster Jenkins decides that she wants to take up opera again, the problem is that she can’t sing, well at least to the ears that are around her. Whether she didn’t know this or refused to accept it is lost in the annals of history, but Foster-Jenkins was a force to be reckoned with, who once made a decision stuck to it doggedly, right to its conclusion.

    After hearing a young Soprano, she sets about making her life-long dream to play at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, a reality. She hires a pianist, expertly portrayed by Simon Helberg (The Big Band Theory) and one of the world’s greatest vocal coaches (David Haig) and along with her Yes Man husband/manager played by a doting Hugh Grant, who pays off critics and audience members to enjoy Foster-Jenkins’ performances, Foster-Jenkins sets herself up for a mighty fall.

    Once again Meryl Streep proves that her acting is all in the eyes. She plays the ageing Foster-Jenkins with a delicacy that is truly touching and shows how poignant an actor she is. Streep manages to bring  hilarity and tragedy into one role. As she flings herself into one of opera’s most demanding arias, the Queen Of The Night, she takes on a Patricia Routledge (Keeping Up Appearances) form, yet is able to truly showcase the depth of Foster Jenkins musings and sheer love of life and ‘anything is possible’ attitude. We could all learn a thing or two from Foster-Jenkins. Hugh Grant perfectly plays his usual suave, English highly impotent secondary character allowing Streep’s magnificent talent to shine through.

    Directed by Stephen Frears and written by Nicholas Martin, this faithful retelling of the famous opera singer that never was, is a laugh out loud, poignant look back at a forgotten era.

  • FILM REVIEW | Evolution

    FILM REVIEW | Evolution

    ★★★★ | Evolution

    Young boys and their mothers are the only inhabitants in a seaside town in the highly unusual film ‘Evolution.’

    CREDIT: Metrodome
    CREDIT: Metrodome

    It’s a world without men, a world where each woman has one son, where they all live in similar white-washed yet minimalistic homes, right off the coastal rocks of an unnamed country.

    It’s here where Nicholas (Max Brebant) lives with his mom (Julie-Marie Parmentier). She feeds him a greenish-like goulash soup at every meal, and also makes sure he takes his medication. She takes Nicholas to play along the rocks of the ocean with the other boys in town, each with their mothers close at hand. But at the heart of soul of this community is a hospital, staffed entirely by women, where all the boys are eventually hospitalized. It’s here at this hospital where the boys are subject to strange medical treatments that perhaps undermine the role of evolution. They are given shots in their stomach, administered to them while they lie strapped to a bed, females nurses surrounding them, with no emotion, all white, and wearing white. What does it all mean? What are the boys being given? And why does Nicholas’ mother, along with the other mothers, venture late at night next to the ocean and writhe naked with each other in the rocks?

    French with English subtitles, ‘Evolution’ messes with our head with the idea that evolution (the beginning of life) is created by women, and that perhaps God is woman. Its imagery, tone and darkness reveals too much yet not enough. It’s a film that leaves the viewer attempting to interpret what they’ve just seen, what they’ve just witnessed.

    ‘Evolution’, directed by Lucille Hadzihalilovic, is a film that she says is steeped in elements from her childhood. The barren landscapes, a faceless hospital, and the rough seas gives us a dreamlike haze into a world of innocence, beauty and cruelty.

    It’s film that’s not easy to watch – there are big gaps of silence, and the ending may be a bit confusing, but upon watching it you’ll get the idea of what message the film is attempting to deliver.

    It’s beautiful yet strange.

     

  • FILM REVIEW | Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party

    FILM REVIEW | Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party

    ★★★★ | Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party

    PR SUPPLIED
    PR SUPPLIED

    It’s Henry Gambles’ birthday and we’re all invited to the party!

    It’s the new DVD/VOD release called ‘Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party’ where the viewer is an attendee at Henry’s birthday party – or at least that’s what it feels like while watching the film. Henry Gamble (an excellent Cole Doman) it turning 17 years old and his family is throwing him a barbecue pool party at their very nice home. Gamble’s family, including his mother Kat (Elizabeth Laidlaw), father Bob (Pat Healy) and collegiate sister Autumn (Nina Ganet), are a religious Christian family where Bob is a pastor and their circle of friends are mostly from the church community, including Henry’s friends.

    But it’s Henry’s big day, and lots of people come to the party. But each member of the Gamble family are struggling with issues that may go against their belief in the church. Kat confesses to Nina that she had an affair with a close family friend who was terminally ill, Nina, meanwhile, is having trouble with a guy she likes (and whom she slept with – a no no in her religions’ beliefs), but she’s angry at him for not being in contact. And Henry is not struggling with but accepting the fact that he is gay. So theirs, and lots of other friends’ issues come to the fray during the party. It’s lots of splashing around the pool, with the young lithe teenagers in their skimpy bathing suits offending one of the older female attendees, while the son of the wife of the husband who Kat had an affair with is having a hard time coming to grips with the death of his father. But all these people come together for Henry, he’s the nicest guy around, goodlooking enough so that the girls fancy him and the young men want to be his friend, including closeted young Logan (Daniel Kyri), who likes Logan but has a hard time penetrating into his circle of friends. It makes for a lot of celebration and drama in this 86-minute movie.

    ‘Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party’ is a coming out story that’s not, forgive the pun, all preachy about being accepted for being gay. It’s a celebration and a masterfully directed film not just about a young man who happens to be coming out of the closet but also about the Evangelical Christian community. And Director Stephen Cone masterfully interweaves several stories going on at the same time that’s not a bit confusing but provides an element of actually being there and eavesdropping on everybody’s conversations. Doman is a true find at Henry Gamble. His face (and smile) practically lights up the screen – he’s a natural and hopefully will have a very successful acting career in his future. But credit goes to award-winning filmmaker Cone (who also wrote the script) for creating a film that makes it a fun experience to be a part of. Bring your swimsuit.

    HENRY GAMBLE’S BIRTHDAY PARTY debuts May 3, 2016 across all digital platforms including iTunes, Vimeo On Demand, and WolfeOnDemand.com.

    BUY NOW ON AMAZON

     

  • 60 SECOND FILM REVIEW | The Jungle Book

    60 SECOND FILM REVIEW | The Jungle Book

    THE JUNGLE BOOK – Live action version of Disney’s 50-year-old classic and boy does it look good.

    ©2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    ©2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    Nutshell – Rudyard Kipling’s book was adapted into the 1967 cartoon movie classic which was Walt Disney’s last film before he died. It turned into a perennial favourite thanks to its great jazz tunes tastefully reprised here and superb story and entertainment value. Here we have just one actor Mowgli and an array of computer generated characters, phenomenal backgrounds enlivened by the obligatory list of superstar voices. There is a lot of action here throughout the film to appeal to the modern audience coupled with some great comedy and boy does it work on every front big time. A movie for kids, big kids and everyone else that just wants a good honest fun commercial thrill ride with a heart of gold.

    Time – 106 mins and man is it crammed from opening chase to closing showdown;

    Certificate – PG it’s a family movie of course – it will become a TV holiday staple.

    Tagline – ‘The Legend Will Never Be The Same’ – This follows Disney’s successful run of reproducing its animated standards in live action format. We have had Alice In wonderland, Cinderella, Snow White & last month’s The Huntsman and Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty) and every one has been massively more successful than the original so expect the same here.

    THE GAY UK FACTOR – Don’t be silly, there is nothing here for your willy or libido, yes there are bears, giant phallic stakes and mano on mano action but get your head out of the gutter this is pure clean fun. Just switch your Scruff off and put your Grindr on mute and relive your childhood you can visit the gay bar on your way home for your jollies.

    Cast – Debutant Neel Sethi as boycub Mowgli, then the stars step in – Bill Murray as Baloo, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa the snake, Idris Elba as villainous tiger Sheer Khan, Ben Kingsley as Panther Bagheera, Christopher Walken singing as ape supremo King Louie and so on through Gary Shandling, Lupita Nyong’o, Sam Raimi and even the director himself Jon Favreau.

    Key Player – ‘Trust in me’ everyone is superb with one exception see below but the movie is dominated by Bill Murray’s Baloo. He is funny, sad, heroic and just what you want him to be. He was allowed to ad lib through his scenes and unusually for an effectively computer generated cartoon he was able to do voices acting alongside the other characters in particular Mowgli and it so works probably only been bettered by Robin William’s Genie in Aladdin.

    Budget – We are in big bollocks territory here with a mega budget of $175 million. No worries though – after 2 weeks it had made over $300 million and it still needs to open in many territories so a lot more moolah to come for this one – it will make a big stack of Rupees and it could surpass Batman v Superman to become the biggest hit of 2016 so far.

    Best Bit – 0.51 mins; There are so many great set pieces and they get everyone just right. Therefore you could pick the exciting first chase by Sheer Khan through the grasslands involving a ‘tribute’ stampede or you could pick the sad moment when Baloo has to lie or the excellent moment when Mowgli becomes the hero of the Elephants. All superb but you will really feel the true magic when you see a little boy floating down a stream banging out the beat to a very familiar tune on a big bears chest where you will be heading straight back to your childhood with the biggest of smiles on your face as if Tom Daley’s Speedos have just fallen off mid dive.

    Worst Bit – 0.02 mins; The very live looking animals take some getting used to when they start speaking – it just seems weird but you soon accept it and then along comes Bagheera the panther. Ben Kingsley is a great actor and has a very distinctive voice but it is so posh and Oxbridge that coming out of a wild animal or a big cat just seems as wrong as Donald Trump’s haircut.

    Little Secret – There were two Jungle Books in production at the same time with this and the forthcoming Jungle Book Origins (plus a Tarzan film too). Disney won the race and is raking in the cash but as we have seen with two asteroid movies at the same time, two volcano movies, two Truman Capote movies or two Terrorists taking the White House films etc it does not mean that the film that comes out second suffers it just has to make sure it is damn good. This was Gary Shandling’s last movie he finished – one month before he died.

    Movie Mistake – So so many but in a kid’s film does it matter. The animals are all over the place as the film is set in the Indian jungle but we seem to have species from around the globe. African Elephants ? Sumatran orangutans ? Chinese Wolves ? Himalayan Bears ? Peccary’s and Red Eyed Frog’s from whole Continents away and so it goes on. The snake Kaa is 5 times larger than any Indian species ever found and King Louie is even more out of proportion roughly 10 times bigger than any monkey ever. The scars, wounds and bee stings on Mowgli appear and disappear so often that we lost count.

    Awards – Nobody has ever won for voice work alone so it won’t happen for individuals and it won’t get nominated in animated categories as it doesn’t fit the criteria so just prizes for the excellent technical team possibly.

    Further Viewing – The Jungle Book (1967), Babe, Scrooges, Alice In Wonderland, The Lion King, The Jungle Book (1994), The Jungle Book 2, next years Jungle Book Origins, Greystoke : Lord Of The Apes, Disney’s Tarzan, The Legend Of Tarzan (Out this Summer), Tarzan Of The Apes...

    Any Good – Of course it is. Disney is getting really good at delivering these live versions of animated classics and this was probably the most sacred cow and the hardest to do as the cast are almost all animals. Jon Favreau the director delivers big time with every minute put to good use and so much great action and suspense. It looks so damn good too and kids will watch the DVD over and over again and with so much going on that adults will like that won’t drive you as crazy as multi repeats of say Frozen or The Lego Movie.

    Rating – 15/100 (15th out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being Gay UK filmatic ejaculatery heaven and 100 being as much fun as a Tottenham Hotspur Premiership Victory party)

     

  • 60 SECOND FILM REVIEW: Eye In The Sky

    EYE IN THE SKY – Real Time Thriller, Real decisions behind fighting war long distance by drone & huge moral issues.

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  • FILM REVIEW | Friend Request

    FILM REVIEW | Friend Request

    ★★★ | Friend Request

    Be careful when you accept a Facebook friend request, because the person requesting might be a lunatic.

    Friend Request

    That’s the premise behind the new movie ‘Friend Request.’ In it, popular girl Laura (Alcia Debnam-Carey) briefly speaks to loner Ma Rina (Liesl Ahlers), who is a bit out of place at school with her unusual appearance and head always covered by a hoodie. In Ma’s mind they are now friends. So Ma sends a Facebook friend request to Laura, but Laura notices that Ma has zero Facebook friends. Laura reluctantly accepts the friend request much to the dismay of her boyfriend Tyler (William Moseley) and best friend Olivia (Brit Morgan). Ma then starts commenting on practically every post that Laura has ever written. Ma becomes more psychotic and weird when Laura has a birthday dinner but doesn’t invite Ma. When Ma sees photos of the party on Facebook, she becomes angry at Laura and goes from friend status to psycho bitch stalker status. Then it’s announced at school that Ma has committed suicide, yet someone is posting dark eerie video on her pages and on Laura’s page, and Laura is unable to unfriend her. And Laura’s friends are unable to deactivate their accounts as well, and one by one they are being killed off due to their association with Laura. While Laura’s 800-plus Facebook friends start unfriending her, who is behind the deaths and the constant Facebook postings? Will Laura be the next victim to Ma’s revenge from the grave?

    ‘Friend Request’ is a film for the Facebook generation. It’s all about collecting friends, whether you really know them or not, and living your life, through Facebook. As the intensity of ‘Friend Request’ builds, it gets a bit sillier and sillier, especially with lines like when Olivia tells Laura to ‘unfriend the dead bitch.’ Then a policeman says – with a straight face – ’someone had a rough day,’ after the brutal death of one of Laura’s friends. ‘Friend Request’ echoes films like ‘Carrie’ and ‘Final Destination’ where friends are killed off one by one, so the body count is there but the suspense really isn’t. And some of the death scenes are a bit ridiculous and over the top. But should you accept this friend request? I say yes!

  • THE 60 SECOND FILM REVIEW | The Huntsman : Winter’s War

    THE 60 SECOND FILM REVIEW | The Huntsman : Winter’s War

    Two Hours of Chris Hemsworth wielding his very big chopper and chasing some very big men with it.

    CREDIT: Universal Pictures

    Nutshell / Hollywood pitch – Let’s make a prequel/sequel to the successful 2014 film where Snow White means Game Of Thrones. All other sequels go darker and moodier but here we go lighter and up the comedy and the action beats too boot. Evil Queen has even more evil Sister who has watched too much Frozen as like Elsa she can control snow and ice but here without bursting into ‘Let It Go’ at regular intervals. Chris Hemsworth has to save the day in the land where love has been banned yet he can’t help feeling the need to breed so he sets off on adventures to avenge a death…  It has a decent midway twist and Charlize Theron hamming it up superbly in two important sections in the secondary villain roll and you won’t be able to take your eyes off her when she is on screen.

    Time – 114 mins of swashbuckling action with slow parts.

    Certificate – 12A so the fights are very user friendly.

    Tagline – None – Preferring to go with “From The Makers of Maleficent” and ” From The Makers Of Alice In Wonderland”.

    THE GAY UK FACTOR – A full length feature in the company of the ultimate muscled man of the countryside Chris Hemsworth The Huntsman himself who can hunt us anytime – You can virtually smell his pits and testosterone through the screen this is one serious big Alpha male guy, unfortunately with one of the worst haircuts in movie history this time out. On the upside he does briefly decide to get into the bath naked which stills have already flooded across the internet on every gay blog and wank site.

    Cast – The Aussie Hunk Thor Chris Hemsworth and the South African beauty and Oscar winner for Monster Charlize Theron. Another Oscar worrying actress from The Help and Zero Dark Thirty Jessica Chastain plays the love interest and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) round out the very heavy girlie cast which may be the reason for it’s average Box Office success. The supporting cast is Nick Frost (Shaun Of The Dead), Sheridan Smith from the superb TV Drama Cilla and Rob Brydon from BBC’s Would I Lie To You?, Gavin and Stacey and even Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

    Key Player – Mirror mirror on the wall who is… you know the drill. Charlize Theron does not have a huge screen time here but like the first film she dominates and steals it from everyone else and she seems to be having such fun maybe she should do a lot more villainess roles. We could all do with her evil mirror if it makes us this attractive.

    Budget – A not cheap $115 million. It hasn’t opened in the States yet but only garnering $44 million Internationally it maybe the first flop of the Summer blockbuster season. The previous film in the series made $396 million let’s put it simply, this one won’t. 

    Best Bit – 1.02 mins; The central fight scene in the woods and over a rope bridge with some very nasty creatures is the high point here. It is tense, well directed and the monsters are very good indeed and pretty unstoppable.

    Worst Bit – 1.18 mins; The big spectacular action sequence where Hemsworth has to climb a mountain and assail the villains castle roof tops should be a thrilling stunt fest with hands over your eyes moments and fingernails dug into your armrest’s but it just isn’t – Diehard With A Vengeance this is not.

    Little Secret – Charlize Theron was reportedly offered a lot less money to reprise her role in this film than Chris Hemsworth and she refused to sign on. Later the producers agreed that she was a big star and an International draw in her own right and raised her money up to $10 million for the movie exactly the same as what Chris got.

    Movie Mistake – Normally we would point out the bloopers and continuation errors but there is something bigger here. He is great to look at but Hemsworth’s accent here hits like a badly cast BBC 70’s comedy. When they move North the characters go all Scottish and when they go West they go Welsh – no problem for Rob Brydon but his three side kicks come over more like Bonnie Tyler, Charlotte Church and Gareth Thomas with bad head colds.

    Awards – Charlize and Jessica are massive award magnets but Chris is pure action man who will never get any gongs. The last film won nothing and nor will this except some Golden Rasberries for those accents.

    Further Viewing – Game Of Thrones, Snow White & The Huntsman, Maleficent, Alice In Wonderland and all Disney’s revamped darker versions of former cartoon fairytales, Thor, The Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies and a million fantasy sword and dragon movies.

    Any Good – Well you will certainly get your monies worth as a lot of that hundred mill is up there on the screen. It’s a decent Friday night out which won’t change your life. We just wonder if more Theron and some other male leads would have helped somewhat.

    Rating – 76/100 (76th out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being Gay UK filmatic ejaculatery heaven and 100 being as much fun as a long haul International flight next to a screaming baby whilst you are trying to concentrate on Thor The dark world.

  • FILM REVIEW | Boulevard

    FILM REVIEW | Boulevard

    ★★★★ | Boulevard

    A 65-year old man in great conflict makes a life changing decision in the new film ‘Boulevard.’

    The late Robin Williams is bank branch manager Nolan Mack. He’s literally just going through life’s motions – working at a bank, with a longtime wife (Kathy Baker) and a very sick father in the hospital. Then one late evening after visiting his father, he drives through a derelict part of town and almost runs over a young man, Leo (Roberto Aguire), who turns out to be a male prostitute. Nolan checks to make sure Leo is fine, then out of the blue, invites him to go to a motel. This chance meeting opens up something inside Nolan who perhaps realised but didn’t accept that he has feelings for other men. While his relationship with Leo becomes more involved and more complicated, Nolan starts giving Leo money and starts acting like a surrogate father. Their relationship is not sexual but it’s intimate. Nolan tries and tries to his hide his encounters with Leo from his wife and his best friend Winston (Bob Odenkirk), but as Nolan becomes more and more involved and emotionally tied to Leo, his wife suspects that something is going on. But eventually Nolan comes to the realisation that Leo does not feel the same way about him, but at this point it appears that Leo’s life will never be the same again.

    Williams gives a delicate performance as the lonely and subdued Nolan. He’s a man whose conflicted, despondent and depressed until Leo comes into his life. Shot in 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee, Williams would eventually hang himself a year later. This story of a lonely and depressed man is eerily parallel to William’s life. Baker, known mostly for her parts on television, is very good as Nolan’s wife, who knows her 40-year marriage is slipping away and there’s nothing she can do to about it.

    Aguire more than holds his own against seasoned veteran Williams, their scenes together are both calm and gentle.

    Director Dito Montiel (2013’s Empire State) does a great job in getting great performances from his cast, with a good script by Douglas Soesbe. But it’s Williams performance that will stay with you for a long time as it’s one of his last, ever.

    11 Things You Need To Know About Boulevard – Robin Williams’ last ever film… Posted by The Gay UK on Saturday, 9 April 2016

  • 60 Second Gay UK Film Review | Eddie The Eagle

    60 Second Gay UK Film Review | Eddie The Eagle

    Eddie The Eagle – The true story of the ultimate underdog sporting hero in the feel good film of the year.

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  • 60 Second Film Review | 10 Cloverfield Lane

    60 Second Film Review | 10 Cloverfield Lane

    10 CLOVERFIELD LANE – The Man behind Star Wars/Trek & Mission impossible takes on Horror, Thrillers & Sci-Fi & that’s just for starters

    Nutshell – If ever there was a film that the less you know and see of it in advance it is this one. Is it a sequel to the original excellent Cloverfield ?… Well it’s in there somewhere, but with JJ Abrams in the background, who gave us 150 episodes of the ultimate spoiler friendly show Lost before Star Trek and the galaxy far far away there will always be more questions than answers. Part one is effectively Saw like then it hits full-blown Hitchcock for the tense 3 plus hander second section before the third part comes along which is a real barnstorming gobsmacker. Basically three people trapped in an underground bunker after an unknown possible Russian attack. Something for everyone then.

    Time – 102 mins (and you won’t be able to take one minute more); Certificate – 15

    Tagline – “Monsters Come In Many Forms” or do they !!!!!!!

    THE GAY UK FACTOR – No gay angle and nothing really for your cock here so take your straight mates and have a night of quality brain food rather than ogling Messrs Hemsworth, Statham or Reynolds and forgetting the plot.

    Cast – A tight team like a good stage play of John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr and oh there is a sex god in it with the voice of Bradley Cooper.

    Key Player – Mary Elizabeth Winstead is so good here and just as well as she is in every scene. She is believable when vulnerable and can switch to funny or fight back mode in a second which happens a lot here. The film would have been bigger with a starrier cast though.

    Budget – $15 million one of the lowest budget American films we have reviewed for a very long time but don’t worry this should make it into the English dictionary under ‘less is more’ and oh that climatic last act… So far it has made back 5 times its budget at $75 million and climbing now that’s a better investment than British Steel.

    Best Bit – 40 mins; Well we couldn’t pick anything from the last act due to spoiling the twists for yourselves. At 40 mins Michelle sees the effects outside of the bunker for the first time creating more questions than answers and then gets trapped in an airlock between two evils.

    Worst Bit – 30 mins; When the three in the bunker start to let their hair down and relax, have fun and tick the days off from their forced ‘two year’ confinement all to the poppy tune Tell Him by the Exciters. They should have used Bette Midler’s version. It lets up the tension probably necessarily but us gay guys love a full on thrill ride with no brakes.

    Little Secret – The petrol station in the film is not Esso or Shell but Kelvin the same as in JJ’s Super 8. It is a tribute to Abram’s maternal grandfather and he puts it in all his projects; In Mission Impossible it is on a letter, in Star Trek the ship is called the USS Kelvin etc etc and we know where it is in Star Wars The Force Awakens but we will let you find that for yourselves – it’s a doozey ! JJ describes this film as the ‘Blood Relative’ of the original movie and in the future they will be linked together in a whole Cloverfield universe with other movies he hopes to make which will be tough as the first one is hand-held camera footage and this is standard filmed action from beyond the fourth wall that we are used too.

    Movie Mistake – There are so many mysteries in this film that you are not sure what is a film mistake and what is deliberate to keep the questions flying around. Should the blood on the ring from the dead girl some years ago be still wet, the appearing and disappearing bandage on Goodman’s leg is it a mistake or the passage of time and the change of daytime to night in the ‘farmhouse’ scene was it deliberate. What is wrong is the ease that a character gets radio messages in one scene but not for the rest of the movie and oh that ever-changing size of spaghetti. Where was the continuity boy, probably off set blowing someone to try and get a walk on part.

    Awards – Not for this one but it will boost Winstead’s career immensely and it is great to have Goodman back. JJ Abrams is probably working on Cloverfield 3 which we will probably get before his next Star Wars outing.

    Further Viewing – Cloverfield, Room, All 53 of Alfred Hitchcocks, Saw’s 1-6, Sleuth and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Also Metal Hurlant Chronicles: Shelter Me which has the same plot and even the same character name, and series two of Lost where a guy is staying in a bunker fearing outside contamination with the same end results so now JJ is recycling his own plots and we are starting to feel as though we are trapped in a time-warp on an island with a smoke monster and some polar bears.

    Any Good – If you want a great thriller that is not like anything you have ever seen before although in many ways is this is for you. A great change from all the blockbusters and superheroes but fans of those will appreciate this too. A lot of great talent is behind this film and as the budget is so low these creative genius’ are free to let their hair down and have fun with the story, its set-up and pay-off. Most of all it is so so tense and you will be gripping the arm of your seat so tightly as if you have just got a hold of Channing Tatum’s bulging ‘Magic Mike‘ for the very first time.

    Rating 54/100 (54th out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being Gay UK filmatic ejaculatery heaven and 100 being as much fun as watching a winner of the Voice’s mega successful chart career)


    10 Cloverfield Lane Trailer by TheGayUK