Kamis, 31 Mei 2018
Tully
Watch Movies TV -(M) ★★★★
Director: Jason Reitman.
Cast: Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Ron Livingston, Mark Duplass, Asher Miles, Lia Frankland, Elaine Tan.
Looking for a movie to put you off becoming a parent? Tully's got you covered.
The brutal realities of motherhood are thrown into sharp relief in this at-times-bleak dramedy, which seems to complete "a womanhood trilogy" of sorts from the writer-director combo of Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman. While this one doesn't wear its humour on its sleeve as much as Juno or Young Adult, it still has touches of laughs amid the true-to-life horribleness and the seriously bizarre edge to its plot.
But the real reason to watch this is Theron, who pulls out yet another remarkable performance that's up there with her best.
She plays Marlo, a married mother-of-two who is heavily pregnant with her unplanned third baby. When the third child arrives, Marlo quickly finds herself struggling to cope until the arrival of a "night nanny" named Tully (Davis).
Tully is a modern-day Mary Poppins who not only takes care of the newborn through the night, but also tidies the house, cooks cupcakes, and lets Marlo get her life back in order. But not everything is as it seems.
Theron is a marvel in this, whether it be when she's having a full-blown meltdown, navigating the niceties while trying to talk about her "quirky" but difficult son, dropping jokes at the dinner table, or singing karaoke with her daughter. It's a masterful performance that ticks every box. Even without bringing the whole weight-gain-acting-commitment thing into it, Theron should totally be in awards discussions when all that stuff rolls around.
The combination of her and Davis is a great one. The excellence of Davis' turn becomes increasingly evident as the film rolls on into strange new places and we realise the depths and facets of Tully. The way she bounces off Theron also gets better and better as their characters' connection grows.
Credit too to the often under-rated Livingston as Marlo's husband Drew, who is given just enough development so as not to be a mere plot device or story necessity (and gets a nice dramatic moment towards the end to cap it off).
The film's central conceit - which I'm trying very very hard not to spoil, in case you hadn't noticed - will be make or break for many people. It's either going to take the film to the next level for you, or turn you off it, and getting to a point where it all makes sense requires a little bit of patience and suspension of disbelief. But beyond its mysteries, the film has fascinating and important things to say about womanhood and motherhood. What is the cost of "having it all" as a mother/wife/woman? Where is the line between those three "roles"? Is "having it all" achievable? Are the sacrifices worthwhile? What if can't be all those things? What if you reach a point in your life and don't know how or why you got where you are?
Cody's script is wondering about all these things, and finds a fascinating way to look at it. It's humourous touches are welcome, it has a genuine heart to it all, but it's also smart and thoughtful. As for Reitman, this is a welcome return to form after the poorly received Labor Day and the terrible Men, Women & Children. It's more in line with his acclaimed first four films, and is perhaps most like the midlife/quarterlife crisis musings of Up In The Air and Young Adult.
All in all, it's clever yet sincere, and balances it light and shade pretty well. Just don't see it if you're thinking about having kids.
Director: Jason Reitman.
Cast: Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Ron Livingston, Mark Duplass, Asher Miles, Lia Frankland, Elaine Tan.
 |
| Mommy couldn't daytime drink like she used to. |
The brutal realities of motherhood are thrown into sharp relief in this at-times-bleak dramedy, which seems to complete "a womanhood trilogy" of sorts from the writer-director combo of Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman. While this one doesn't wear its humour on its sleeve as much as Juno or Young Adult, it still has touches of laughs amid the true-to-life horribleness and the seriously bizarre edge to its plot.
But the real reason to watch this is Theron, who pulls out yet another remarkable performance that's up there with her best.
She plays Marlo, a married mother-of-two who is heavily pregnant with her unplanned third baby. When the third child arrives, Marlo quickly finds herself struggling to cope until the arrival of a "night nanny" named Tully (Davis).
Tully is a modern-day Mary Poppins who not only takes care of the newborn through the night, but also tidies the house, cooks cupcakes, and lets Marlo get her life back in order. But not everything is as it seems.
Theron is a marvel in this, whether it be when she's having a full-blown meltdown, navigating the niceties while trying to talk about her "quirky" but difficult son, dropping jokes at the dinner table, or singing karaoke with her daughter. It's a masterful performance that ticks every box. Even without bringing the whole weight-gain-acting-commitment thing into it, Theron should totally be in awards discussions when all that stuff rolls around.
The combination of her and Davis is a great one. The excellence of Davis' turn becomes increasingly evident as the film rolls on into strange new places and we realise the depths and facets of Tully. The way she bounces off Theron also gets better and better as their characters' connection grows.
Credit too to the often under-rated Livingston as Marlo's husband Drew, who is given just enough development so as not to be a mere plot device or story necessity (and gets a nice dramatic moment towards the end to cap it off).
The film's central conceit - which I'm trying very very hard not to spoil, in case you hadn't noticed - will be make or break for many people. It's either going to take the film to the next level for you, or turn you off it, and getting to a point where it all makes sense requires a little bit of patience and suspension of disbelief. But beyond its mysteries, the film has fascinating and important things to say about womanhood and motherhood. What is the cost of "having it all" as a mother/wife/woman? Where is the line between those three "roles"? Is "having it all" achievable? Are the sacrifices worthwhile? What if can't be all those things? What if you reach a point in your life and don't know how or why you got where you are?
Cody's script is wondering about all these things, and finds a fascinating way to look at it. It's humourous touches are welcome, it has a genuine heart to it all, but it's also smart and thoughtful. As for Reitman, this is a welcome return to form after the poorly received Labor Day and the terrible Men, Women & Children. It's more in line with his acclaimed first four films, and is perhaps most like the midlife/quarterlife crisis musings of Up In The Air and Young Adult.
All in all, it's clever yet sincere, and balances it light and shade pretty well. Just don't see it if you're thinking about having kids.
Film Review: THE POSSESSION EXPERIMENT (2016)
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THE POSSESSION EXPERIMENT *** USA 2016 Dir: Scott B Hansen 81 mins
The enjoyably overwrought tone of this slick addition to the over-saturated possession sub-genre is set by a visceral exorcism opening, in which Priest Bill Moseley battles against a demon-possessed young woman yelling “Fuck me! Fuck me!” before she instigates a massacre.
Twenty years on, theology student Chris Minor is doing his final thesis on the ritual of exorcism and, having found video clips of the earlier case online, sets out to find the cameraman and conjure a demon into his own body(!). Another conventionally shot movie that incorporates “found footage” into its narrative, this is also probably the first horror flick in which a seemingly smart, rational protagonist crowd-funds his own demon possession for the purpose of documentation. Director Hansen has fun with cutaways to typical giggling viewers watching Minor’s online broadcast, and the high body count yields plenty of gore, including a MIRRORS-inspired jaw-ripping and a cheerfully blatant Freddy Krueger-styled rampage in the final half-hour. It’s played straight for scares and shocks, though the most appealing elements are the unintentionally hilarious performances by the older cast members (notably Minor’s ill-fared mom and Basil Exposition dad), and the outrageous soap opera / EMPIRE STRIKES BACK-style plot twist heralded by the line “I’m not your birth father!” It’s undeniably silly, but eager to please and never dull.
Review by Steven West
THE POSSESSION EXPERIMENT *** USA 2016 Dir: Scott B Hansen 81 mins
Twenty years on, theology student Chris Minor is doing his final thesis on the ritual of exorcism and, having found video clips of the earlier case online, sets out to find the cameraman and conjure a demon into his own body(!). Another conventionally shot movie that incorporates “found footage” into its narrative, this is also probably the first horror flick in which a seemingly smart, rational protagonist crowd-funds his own demon possession for the purpose of documentation. Director Hansen has fun with cutaways to typical giggling viewers watching Minor’s online broadcast, and the high body count yields plenty of gore, including a MIRRORS-inspired jaw-ripping and a cheerfully blatant Freddy Krueger-styled rampage in the final half-hour. It’s played straight for scares and shocks, though the most appealing elements are the unintentionally hilarious performances by the older cast members (notably Minor’s ill-fared mom and Basil Exposition dad), and the outrageous soap opera / EMPIRE STRIKES BACK-style plot twist heralded by the line “I’m not your birth father!” It’s undeniably silly, but eager to please and never dull.
Review by Steven West
YOUR CAT LOOKS LIKE A 'ZOMBIE CAT FROM MARS'
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Everywhere you look there is zombies but what if your feline friend was a zombie, what would you do then?
2015 coughed up the fur ball that was ZOMBIE CATS FROM MARS and the prequel to that movie is in production.
So what will this prequel entail:
ZOMBIE CATS FROM MARS 2 takes place in 1957 and is centered around the Peterson family, their eccentric neighbor Agnes, physicist Grandpaw Bill, and a group of Soviet cosmonauts working under the control of the feline commander Cosmo. With Cosmo at the controls, a newly-launched satellite (Sputnik) beams a signal alerting Earth cats to attack. Agnes falls victim, and the Peterson family assume she’s been attacked by a large animal. When her bandages are removed, she’s revealed to have become a zombie and attacks matriarch Diane. As the Petersons’ world begins to collapse, it is up to young Armand Peterson and family friend Howie to go back in time to prevent the catastrophe that is unfolding.
Its not going to be easy to control this cast but the filmmakers are currently seeking funding for the next round of filming of several key scenes - primarily the Soviet Space Lab scenes.
Their target is $7,500 which every bit will go into the film and you can help them reach that target by donating via the link below:
Of course there is some perks available to those who donate to the cause which include: shout outs on social media, DVD copy of the film, Blu-ray copy of the film, tickets to the premiere of the film and many more!
Important Information:
THE PESTILENCE - Infected cats strike humans, which causes the humans to transform into Zombie-Cat People, who in turn attack other non-infected humans. If you shoot an infected cat, the cat will become a zombie and attack people unless it is anointed with holy water. If you shoot a Zombie-Cat Person, they will be forever dead, but their soul will be in a state of limbo. If you anoint a Zombie-Cat Person with holy water, they will be forever dead, but their souls will return to heaven.
If you are unable to contribute financially a share of the project across social media will go a long way to helping as well.
Keep up to date with the project via the following links:
Still not sure then why not check out the first film ZOMBIE CATS FROM MARS (2015).
2015 coughed up the fur ball that was ZOMBIE CATS FROM MARS and the prequel to that movie is in production.
So what will this prequel entail:
ZOMBIE CATS FROM MARS 2 takes place in 1957 and is centered around the Peterson family, their eccentric neighbor Agnes, physicist Grandpaw Bill, and a group of Soviet cosmonauts working under the control of the feline commander Cosmo. With Cosmo at the controls, a newly-launched satellite (Sputnik) beams a signal alerting Earth cats to attack. Agnes falls victim, and the Peterson family assume she’s been attacked by a large animal. When her bandages are removed, she’s revealed to have become a zombie and attacks matriarch Diane. As the Petersons’ world begins to collapse, it is up to young Armand Peterson and family friend Howie to go back in time to prevent the catastrophe that is unfolding.
Its not going to be easy to control this cast but the filmmakers are currently seeking funding for the next round of filming of several key scenes - primarily the Soviet Space Lab scenes.
Their target is $7,500 which every bit will go into the film and you can help them reach that target by donating via the link below:
Of course there is some perks available to those who donate to the cause which include: shout outs on social media, DVD copy of the film, Blu-ray copy of the film, tickets to the premiere of the film and many more!
Important Information:
THE PESTILENCE - Infected cats strike humans, which causes the humans to transform into Zombie-Cat People, who in turn attack other non-infected humans. If you shoot an infected cat, the cat will become a zombie and attack people unless it is anointed with holy water. If you shoot a Zombie-Cat Person, they will be forever dead, but their soul will be in a state of limbo. If you anoint a Zombie-Cat Person with holy water, they will be forever dead, but their souls will return to heaven.
If you are unable to contribute financially a share of the project across social media will go a long way to helping as well.
Keep up to date with the project via the following links:
Website: www.zombiecatsfrommars.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheZombieCats
Still not sure then why not check out the first film ZOMBIE CATS FROM MARS (2015).
Child's Play 2 (4½ Stars)
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Google's blogger has recently announced some new changes, but today I noticed a change that wasn't listed. Until now, if you accessed "dansator.blogspot.com" outside of America it redirected to a mirror site in your own country, such as "dansator.blogspot.de" or "dansator.blogspot.co.uk". Now it's the other way round. If I type "dansator.blogspot.de" I'm redirected to "dansator.blogspot.com". I hope this doesn't mean that the foreign domains will be cancelled. The links that I use within my blog posts are a jumble, depending on which country I lived in when I wrote the posts. When I lived in England the links were to the blogspot.co.uk domain, and after I moved to Germany the links were to the blogspot.de domain. Occasional links were to the blogspot.com domain, but they were sporadic.
Moving to the film itself, one of my friends challenged my statement that the first Child's Play film was the weakest in the series. He claimed that the first was the best, and that the sequels don't come close. I disagree with him, but I can understand the reason for his opinion. It depends on what a person expects from a horror film. The first film was a serious horror film. The sequels all have an element of humour, varying in degree from film to film. I personally love the horror comedy genre. If done well, inserting comedy into a film can make it better.
Google's blogger has recently announced some new changes, but today I noticed a change that wasn't listed. Until now, if you accessed "dansator.blogspot.com" outside of America it redirected to a mirror site in your own country, such as "dansator.blogspot.de" or "dansator.blogspot.co.uk". Now it's the other way round. If I type "dansator.blogspot.de" I'm redirected to "dansator.blogspot.com". I hope this doesn't mean that the foreign domains will be cancelled. The links that I use within my blog posts are a jumble, depending on which country I lived in when I wrote the posts. When I lived in England the links were to the blogspot.co.uk domain, and after I moved to Germany the links were to the blogspot.de domain. Occasional links were to the blogspot.com domain, but they were sporadic.
Moving to the film itself, one of my friends challenged my statement that the first Child's Play film was the weakest in the series. He claimed that the first was the best, and that the sequels don't come close. I disagree with him, but I can understand the reason for his opinion. It depends on what a person expects from a horror film. The first film was a serious horror film. The sequels all have an element of humour, varying in degree from film to film. I personally love the horror comedy genre. If done well, inserting comedy into a film can make it better.
 |
Order from Amazon.com |
| Order from Amazon.co.uk | |
| Order from Amazon.de |
Quick Sips - The Book Smugglers May 2018
Watch Movies TV -The Awakenings season has begun at The Book Smugglers! The theme is perhaps the vaguest of their guiding ideas so far, but if this first story is anything to go by, it’s going to be another amazing year of short SFF. Because kicking things off is a story about magic and about portals. About escape and about bodies. And yes, about awakening, not to this secret world where everything is perfect, but rather to the knowledge that the world is complicated, and often corrupt, and magic and happiness are things that must be worked at, especially if you’re one of those who don’t want what the world wants for you. It’s a lovely and inspiring read, even as it doesn’t put much stock in escape fantasies. To the review!
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| Art by Emma Glaze |
Story:
“When the Letter Comes” by Sara Fox (6275 words)
No Spoilers: Henry is a young girl growing up in the hope that magic will help her. That she will be one of those to fall through a portal and into another realm where she could feel right about herself. As it is, because she’s trans, her family isn’t very supportive, and most aspects of the world seem wrong. When a letter from a magic school does come, though, it’s not for Henry, but for Henry’s younger sister. And what follows is a piece that I feel explores the injustices in the world in rather frank terms. Henry is beset with things that could be better but aren’t, as are many people in the story. For all of them, the injustice is real and immediate, and yet even with magic it’s not something that they can exactly just snap their fingers are solve. The story is about patience, and degrees, and taking what freedom and progress is possible, while still working for more, and still valuing what good exists in the here and now. For Henry, it means having to navigate a lot of other people’s opinions, standing up when she can and sidestepping when she must but surviving and trying to build a life she can be comfortable in. It’s a tender piece, showing the power of family and friends and, most of all, of Henry herself.
Keywords: Magic School, Sisters, Transgender MC, War, Family, Choice
Review: This is such a beautiful and complicated story. Because for me it’s a story about navigating expectations. The expectations that the world has for Henry and the expectations she has for the world. And she finds, as she grows up, that the expectations the world has for her are much more pressing, much more “real” in the sense that they do inform what she’s able to do, how she’s able to interact with the world. But she also finds that her expectations, her desires, matter just as much, and that she shouldn’t give them up just because it would be easier for other people. But it does mean having to be patient, not because she wants to be but because she can be. It’s not always a reality for some, but she’s able to survive because she can epxress herself in increments, because she does have some people (like her sister) who support her and believe her and love her. But I love how the magic for her becomes something completely different, becomes “choice and learning and sheer damned stubbornness.” Because it’s a magic that she can take for herself, and make the world bend for instead of bending for the world.
At the same time, I feel there’s a level to the story that’s all about struggle and belief and conflict, as framed by the magical war that Henry’s sister fights in and that Henry herself joins at one point. A war being fought out of outrage and out of fear. Out of a desire for things not to change. It’s not a war about gender but about technology, but I feel that there are definite parallels, that this battle is being fought over progress, as nebulous and often troubling as that concept is. But it’s mostly about how people want to govern and how people want to live. How decisions should be made, and how they can be made freely. Which is to say, it’s a battle over whether to base decisions on research and science or on fear and suspicion. And though Henry is patient, she also knows that this is a fight that needs to happen, and keep happening, for as long as people try to use nostalgia and ignorance to maintain corruption and power imbalances. And really it’s a wonderful story about disappointment, disillusionment, and resilience. Not a loss of faith, but a complicating of it. Not an accepting of all the ways the world is wrong, but a constant work to stay alive in hopes that things can get better. It’s a fantastic read!
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TMP Television Edition: Entertainment Business
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Well, hey stranger! Haven't seen you in a month of Thursday Movie Picks (hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, of course). Been a bit hectic, lately. The Man constantly has his foot on a brotha's neck, holdin' me down. He kicked me out of Starbucks, shot me out of Waffle House, and won't even let me barbecue in peace. If any part of my reality follows me out to the football field, there's hell to pay, and God forbid I have the audacity to walk around in a white neighborhood, or ask why I'm being arrested.
Well, not me, per se.
Us.
Me, personally? I've been grinding through the last few months of the school year, grading papers and lesson planning on an endless loop. Endless until now, that is. Summer is here. And I can get back into this blogging thing. I especially like Thursdays, when I get to hang out with you guys.
So here I am, aaaaannnnndddddd, not even discussing movies. Nope, we're talking TV shows about the entertainment business. And I'm all about this topic. Ready? Five, six, seven, eight...
Well, hey stranger! Haven't seen you in a month of Thursday Movie Picks (hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, of course). Been a bit hectic, lately. The Man constantly has his foot on a brotha's neck, holdin' me down. He kicked me out of Starbucks, shot me out of Waffle House, and won't even let me barbecue in peace. If any part of my reality follows me out to the football field, there's hell to pay, and God forbid I have the audacity to walk around in a white neighborhood, or ask why I'm being arrested.
Well, not me, per se.
Us.
Me, personally? I've been grinding through the last few months of the school year, grading papers and lesson planning on an endless loop. Endless until now, that is. Summer is here. And I can get back into this blogging thing. I especially like Thursdays, when I get to hang out with you guys.
So here I am, aaaaannnnndddddd, not even discussing movies. Nope, we're talking TV shows about the entertainment business. And I'm all about this topic. Ready? Five, six, seven, eight...
Josie and the Pussycats
(1970-73)
Imagine Scooby-Doo with a girl group and without Scooby. If you can do that, you pretty much nailed Josie and the Pussycats. In case that isn't clear enough, it was three girls traveling around the country...later the galaxy as it became Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space...performing gigs and solving mysteries. Or dealing with their arch-nemesis, the brother-sister duo Alexander and Alexandra. I used to watch this early every weekday morning while shoveling some sugary cereal down my throat before heading out to school. Talk about getting the day started right. And those costumes!
Empire
(2015-???)
The Lyon family is hip hop royalty and runs their record label, the eponymous Empire much like a crime family. It's a full-blown soap opera that just so happens to feature original R&B and hip hop better than most of what's on the radio. To that we can end an impressive list of guest stars, many of whom wind up with recurring roles. Forest Whitaker, Nia Long, Demi Moore, Eva Longoria, Rumer Willis, Mariah Carey, are but a few along with a slew of actual music artists. However, it's real drawing card is the turbulent relationship of its two main characters. The ever-slimy patriarch of the bunch, Lucious Lyon is played wonderfully by Terrence Howard. He is only outdone by the true love of his life, the incomparable Cookie played with an unquantifiable zest by Taraji P. Henson. This is trash-TV, done right.
Star
(2016-???)
Star is actually the name of the main character, a young white girl who will do anything to achieve R&B superstardom. Much like Henson in Empire, Jude Demorest goes all in on the role and it pays off big. Of course, Star has had a troubled youth beginning with the death of her mother, also a singer, when she was very young. Along with her even more troubled younger sister Simone (Brittany O'Grady), and Alexandra (Ryan Destiny), the daughter of a legendary rock star she's managed to hook up with, Star forms the hopeful girl group Take 3. We follow them through the ups and downs of trying to become stars, deal with each other, and deal with all the mayhem surrounding them, all with the help of mother-figure/manager Carlotta, played in series-grounding fashion by Queen Latifah. What I didn't mention in my Empire entry was that it was created by movie director Lee Daniels. He may have found his niche, as he also created this show. Like the other, Star also features original music every week that's as good or better than what the rest of the sub-30 crowd is churning out these days. This is more very good/bad trash-TV, but with its own calling card. Every episode somehow works in a full-length music video as part of the narrative.Child's Play (4 Stars)
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Beware! Chucky is coming for you! But do you know why? I sent him! This weekend I was looking at an old post of mine, over a year old, and there was a spelling mistake in it! I was so ashamed that I couldn't correct it fast enough. I shan't even tell you what the post was. I've hidden the evidence now.
It's my fault if I spell a word wrong, but I also hold my readers accountable. If you ever see a spelling mistake in my blog, please tell me in the comments section. If you don't do it Chucky will get you.
This is the first in a series of seven films (so far). The Child's Play aka Chucky films have different availability from country to country. In America there's a Blu-ray box set of the first six films, but the seventh, "Cult of Chucky", has to be bought separately. In England there's a Blu-ray box set of all seven films. In Germany there's no box set, and the first film has only been released on DVD. The links I've listed below are for the best purchase options.
Beware! Chucky is coming for you! But do you know why? I sent him! This weekend I was looking at an old post of mine, over a year old, and there was a spelling mistake in it! I was so ashamed that I couldn't correct it fast enough. I shan't even tell you what the post was. I've hidden the evidence now.
It's my fault if I spell a word wrong, but I also hold my readers accountable. If you ever see a spelling mistake in my blog, please tell me in the comments section. If you don't do it Chucky will get you.
This is the first in a series of seven films (so far). The Child's Play aka Chucky films have different availability from country to country. In America there's a Blu-ray box set of the first six films, but the seventh, "Cult of Chucky", has to be bought separately. In England there's a Blu-ray box set of all seven films. In Germany there's no box set, and the first film has only been released on DVD. The links I've listed below are for the best purchase options.
|
Order from Amazon.com |
| Order from Amazon.co.uk | |
| Order from Amazon.de |
Rabu, 30 Mei 2018
Movie Review: Bending The Rules (2012)
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Bending The Rules
2012
Cast: Adam ''Edge'' Copeland, Jamie Kennedy, Jessica Walter, Alicia Witt, Jennifer Esposito, Kevin Weisman
Genre: Buddy Cop Comedy
Plot: A suspended cop and a prosecutor become unlikely partners when they stumble upon onto a criminal plot in New Orleans
'Action Cop Comedy With Not Enough Good Humour & Action'
The thing I noticed with these WWE films, is that based on what I have seen in this one and 12 Rounds 2 so far, in my consumption of these flicks, the idea or premise sounds somewhat interesting on paper, but with the movies themselves, they turn out to be such vapid affairs. They have a whiff of b-movie, straight-to-DVD- going for them: low production values, Z-movie support cast, thus taking an already established and familiar premise or formula that was very much old news back in the 1980s and 1990s and try to inject some newfound energy into it for the current era - yet these movies tend to exist to further boost the star/wrestler's appeal, brand & in widening their exposure through other media and entertainment forms. WWE films have been trying to mould John Cena as a Schwarzenneger, Stallone, Bruce Willis- type, Kane as the antagonist in horror flicks. Whereas the likes of The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson, Steve Austin have sought to establish their movie careers further away from WWE Films & in other territories.
Bending The Rules would have been an overly decent effort, especially for a buddy cop comedy - if WWE Films didn't rely so much on Adam Copeland as the poster boy for the film. Then again, without Adam, die-hard Edge fans wouldn't have bothered or cared. Or even noticed.
The film sees a junior district attorney, Theo Gold (Jamie Kennedy) partnering up with a corrupt cop, Nick Blades (Adam Copeland), who is currently on administrative leave. Nick is about to stand trial in court for misconduct, who meets up with Thero. With Nick's help, Theo tries to get his dad's stolen car back from some crooks.
The humour is just poor and not very or consistently funny for a comedy. Although with Adam 'Edge' Copeland dressed as if he is about to head off to Hawaii with the tropical shirt and shorts, he was effective in his first leading role with a natural charisma & likability that he exudes onscreen. He also shows his deftness for humour and has a good grasp in a much lighter role, of which handles well. As for Jamie Kennedy, he does virtually little and says little, although, in honesty, he is just not the big-name comedic actor who could lead or front a movie that has a potentially good or okay premise that is also rehashed. Jennifer Esposito is passable, but the rest of the cast is not worth pondering about.
There was never really a moment where I sensed that the main characters were really in deep trouble. There are also no good stunts, fight scenes - Copeland doesn't get to pummel a lot of bad guys -, action scenes; thus, but for the poor comedy, the film is devoid of most of the other elements and conventions found in many successful and popular buddy cop films. That, and it doesn't do or offer anything exciting or entertaining to entice viewers and the audience to get fully onboard with this movie and to go along for the ride.
And the plot is just so convoluted and difficult to make sense of, which didn't help either. Bending The Rules needs not so much bending, but a lot of tweaking in the script and action areas.
Final Verdict:
This wasn't quite the disaster that I'd anticipated (and not as bad as WWE Films other notable lacklustre 12 Rounds 2, which I saw) and the performance from Adam Copeland was all right & he impressed me the most. It's just it's a shame that the story is so laboured and not very exciting, charming, nor as funny as it should have been for an action comedy.
Bending The Rules is, unfortunately, another low-key Z-movie action affair by WWE Films, which doesn't help improve their reputation on the movie front as much as it should do. If the film was decent that is - yet in truth, it is not. Even as a B-movie based studio, if they want to attract larger crowds and viewers, besides their WWE fanbase, they need to try, much, much harder.
But for Copeland's laudable efforts, this is sadly lacking in all other areas and that had it not been for his somewhat charismatic turn, Bending The Rules would be far less entertaining & so completely not worth seeing. That, and I wouldn't have paid any attention to it, at all.
Overall:
2012
Cast: Adam ''Edge'' Copeland, Jamie Kennedy, Jessica Walter, Alicia Witt, Jennifer Esposito, Kevin Weisman
Genre: Buddy Cop Comedy
Plot: A suspended cop and a prosecutor become unlikely partners when they stumble upon onto a criminal plot in New Orleans
'Action Cop Comedy With Not Enough Good Humour & Action'
The thing I noticed with these WWE films, is that based on what I have seen in this one and 12 Rounds 2 so far, in my consumption of these flicks, the idea or premise sounds somewhat interesting on paper, but with the movies themselves, they turn out to be such vapid affairs. They have a whiff of b-movie, straight-to-DVD- going for them: low production values, Z-movie support cast, thus taking an already established and familiar premise or formula that was very much old news back in the 1980s and 1990s and try to inject some newfound energy into it for the current era - yet these movies tend to exist to further boost the star/wrestler's appeal, brand & in widening their exposure through other media and entertainment forms. WWE films have been trying to mould John Cena as a Schwarzenneger, Stallone, Bruce Willis- type, Kane as the antagonist in horror flicks. Whereas the likes of The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson, Steve Austin have sought to establish their movie careers further away from WWE Films & in other territories.
Bending The Rules would have been an overly decent effort, especially for a buddy cop comedy - if WWE Films didn't rely so much on Adam Copeland as the poster boy for the film. Then again, without Adam, die-hard Edge fans wouldn't have bothered or cared. Or even noticed.
The film sees a junior district attorney, Theo Gold (Jamie Kennedy) partnering up with a corrupt cop, Nick Blades (Adam Copeland), who is currently on administrative leave. Nick is about to stand trial in court for misconduct, who meets up with Thero. With Nick's help, Theo tries to get his dad's stolen car back from some crooks.
The humour is just poor and not very or consistently funny for a comedy. Although with Adam 'Edge' Copeland dressed as if he is about to head off to Hawaii with the tropical shirt and shorts, he was effective in his first leading role with a natural charisma & likability that he exudes onscreen. He also shows his deftness for humour and has a good grasp in a much lighter role, of which handles well. As for Jamie Kennedy, he does virtually little and says little, although, in honesty, he is just not the big-name comedic actor who could lead or front a movie that has a potentially good or okay premise that is also rehashed. Jennifer Esposito is passable, but the rest of the cast is not worth pondering about.
There was never really a moment where I sensed that the main characters were really in deep trouble. There are also no good stunts, fight scenes - Copeland doesn't get to pummel a lot of bad guys -, action scenes; thus, but for the poor comedy, the film is devoid of most of the other elements and conventions found in many successful and popular buddy cop films. That, and it doesn't do or offer anything exciting or entertaining to entice viewers and the audience to get fully onboard with this movie and to go along for the ride.
And the plot is just so convoluted and difficult to make sense of, which didn't help either. Bending The Rules needs not so much bending, but a lot of tweaking in the script and action areas.
Final Verdict:
This wasn't quite the disaster that I'd anticipated (and not as bad as WWE Films other notable lacklustre 12 Rounds 2, which I saw) and the performance from Adam Copeland was all right & he impressed me the most. It's just it's a shame that the story is so laboured and not very exciting, charming, nor as funny as it should have been for an action comedy.
Bending The Rules is, unfortunately, another low-key Z-movie action affair by WWE Films, which doesn't help improve their reputation on the movie front as much as it should do. If the film was decent that is - yet in truth, it is not. Even as a B-movie based studio, if they want to attract larger crowds and viewers, besides their WWE fanbase, they need to try, much, much harder.
But for Copeland's laudable efforts, this is sadly lacking in all other areas and that had it not been for his somewhat charismatic turn, Bending The Rules would be far less entertaining & so completely not worth seeing. That, and I wouldn't have paid any attention to it, at all.
Overall:
Upgrade: Film Review
Watch Movies TV -
Cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Melanie Vallejo, Betty Green
Director: Leigh Whannell
The fact that Upgrade is so woefully unoriginal in its narrative is almost inexorably and perversely beside the point.
It robs cliches and genre tropes from every which way, stealing from Robocop, via Cronenbergian body horror and even riffs on late 80s buddy cop /tech shows like Automan and Knight Ruder.
Yet it does it with such glee and b-movie abandon that it's almost compulsive and adrenaline fuelled in that way Blumhouse productions churn out low budget films and makes almost diamonds from cinematic coal.
In a world supposedly just five minutes from now, where autonomous cars roam the roads and tech is close to taking over, the Tom Hardy-cum Jamie Dornan Marshall-Green is Grey Trace, a veritable Luddite who prefers to listen to vinyl, while out in his garage, repairing his old Pontiac Firebird. His wife, Asha (Winners and Losers Melanie Vallejo) is a little less stubborn in her tech approach, working for a computer company and embracing the future.
However, their world is changed when their autonomous car goes nuts, leads them to the wrong part of town, and leaves Asha dead and Grey a quadriplegic after a mugging gone wrong. Approached by a tech genius and offered the chance to take part in a risky surgery to input a computer chip into his spine, Grey's triggered by the thought of avenging his dead wife.
So with the STEM system inside, he begins his quest... despite every moral fibre being conflicted within.
Upgrade is the kind of B-movie schlock that plays predictably to its low level budget, but brings some inventiveness to the visual table.
In a cast where acting is sometimes secondary to the screen (with the exception of Marshall-Green and Vallejo), the film's scuzzy sheen is sometimes marred by its less-than-hitting-the-roof ambitions. But there is no denying the film's look and feel is like a dirty Blade Runner with 80s revenge movie intentions. Drones hover in the sky in this day-after-tomorrow world, and Saw scribe Whannell deserves some praise for his execution, old school or otherwise.
In among some nifty fight sequences that don't skimp on the gore or the style (thanks to Whannell's camera following Marshall-Green at his level), the film's plot and various holes and issues are easily skated across. It gives Upgrade the feeling of something pertaining to be a little more sophisticated than it actually achieves (an overall feeling is one of mistrust at where technology is going, the conflict between old school and new world mentioned but never fully narratively leaned on).
But there's no denying for a night out, and for a sci-fi B-movie the likes of which is so rarely seen these days, Upgrade is a serious contender for guilty pleasure movie of the year - it knows what it wants to do, strives to build on its high concept premise and isn't afraid to fail - and is more than happy to have you along for the adrenaline-fuelled revenge ride.
Upgrade: Film Review
Cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Melanie Vallejo, Betty Green
Director: Leigh Whannell
The fact that Upgrade is so woefully unoriginal in its narrative is almost inexorably and perversely beside the point.
It robs cliches and genre tropes from every which way, stealing from Robocop, via Cronenbergian body horror and even riffs on late 80s buddy cop /tech shows like Automan and Knight Ruder.
Yet it does it with such glee and b-movie abandon that it's almost compulsive and adrenaline fuelled in that way Blumhouse productions churn out low budget films and makes almost diamonds from cinematic coal.
In a world supposedly just five minutes from now, where autonomous cars roam the roads and tech is close to taking over, the Tom Hardy-cum Jamie Dornan Marshall-Green is Grey Trace, a veritable Luddite who prefers to listen to vinyl, while out in his garage, repairing his old Pontiac Firebird. His wife, Asha (Winners and Losers Melanie Vallejo) is a little less stubborn in her tech approach, working for a computer company and embracing the future.
However, their world is changed when their autonomous car goes nuts, leads them to the wrong part of town, and leaves Asha dead and Grey a quadriplegic after a mugging gone wrong. Approached by a tech genius and offered the chance to take part in a risky surgery to input a computer chip into his spine, Grey's triggered by the thought of avenging his dead wife.
So with the STEM system inside, he begins his quest... despite every moral fibre being conflicted within.
Upgrade is the kind of B-movie schlock that plays predictably to its low level budget, but brings some inventiveness to the visual table.
In a cast where acting is sometimes secondary to the screen (with the exception of Marshall-Green and Vallejo), the film's scuzzy sheen is sometimes marred by its less-than-hitting-the-roof ambitions. But there is no denying the film's look and feel is like a dirty Blade Runner with 80s revenge movie intentions. Drones hover in the sky in this day-after-tomorrow world, and Saw scribe Whannell deserves some praise for his execution, old school or otherwise.
In among some nifty fight sequences that don't skimp on the gore or the style (thanks to Whannell's camera following Marshall-Green at his level), the film's plot and various holes and issues are easily skated across. It gives Upgrade the feeling of something pertaining to be a little more sophisticated than it actually achieves (an overall feeling is one of mistrust at where technology is going, the conflict between old school and new world mentioned but never fully narratively leaned on).
But there's no denying for a night out, and for a sci-fi B-movie the likes of which is so rarely seen these days, Upgrade is a serious contender for guilty pleasure movie of the year - it knows what it wants to do, strives to build on its high concept premise and isn't afraid to fail - and is more than happy to have you along for the adrenaline-fuelled revenge ride.
CooModel Palm Empires 1/12th scale Date Masamune Japanese Samurai Collectible Figure
Watch Movies TV -Date Masamune was a regional strongman of Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful daimyōs in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all the more iconic for his missing eye, and Date was often called dokuganryū (独眼竜), or the "one-eyed dragon". As a legendary warrior and leader, Masamune is a character in a number of Japanese period dramas. He was played by Ken Watanabe in the popular 1987 NHK series Dokuganryū Masamune. Masamune is known for a few things that made him stand out from other daimyōs of the time. In particular, his famous crescent-moon-bearing helmet won him a fearsome reputation.
CooModel PE006 Palm Empires 1/12th scale Date Masamune Collectible Figure (Standard version) specially features: realistic head sculpt of one-eyed Date Masamune, 1/12th scale action body, Eight (8) Pieces of Interchangeable Palms
Scroll down to see the rest of the pictures.
Click on them for bigger and better views.
Costume: red kosode (coat), black kakuobi (waist band), blue hakama (trousers), black tabi (socks) with waraji (sandals), black kabuto (helmet) with half-moon shape, black menoshitabao (mask), suit of black gusoku (armor), black kote (vambraces), black haidate (cuishes), black suneate (jambeaus), black and gold seno (armor tie)
Weapons: katana (long sword), black katana scabbard, wakizashi (short sword), black wakizashi scabbard
Accessory: black figure stand
Related posts:
Samurai Date Masamune by DiD posted on my toy blog HERE
Preview pics Toys Dao 1:6 scale Dark Samurai 12-inch figure - another Samurai inspired Darth Vader posted HERE
CooModel PE006 Palm Empires 1/12th scale Date Masamune Collectible Figure (Standard version) specially features: realistic head sculpt of one-eyed Date Masamune, 1/12th scale action body, Eight (8) Pieces of Interchangeable Palms
Scroll down to see the rest of the pictures.
Click on them for bigger and better views.
Costume: red kosode (coat), black kakuobi (waist band), blue hakama (trousers), black tabi (socks) with waraji (sandals), black kabuto (helmet) with half-moon shape, black menoshitabao (mask), suit of black gusoku (armor), black kote (vambraces), black haidate (cuishes), black suneate (jambeaus), black and gold seno (armor tie)
Weapons: katana (long sword), black katana scabbard, wakizashi (short sword), black wakizashi scabbard
Accessory: black figure stand
Related posts:
Samurai Date Masamune by DiD posted on my toy blog HERE
Preview pics Toys Dao 1:6 scale Dark Samurai 12-inch figure - another Samurai inspired Darth Vader posted HERE
Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #252
Watch Movies TV -Competition can bring out the worst in people, but as this issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies proves, it can also bring out the best. Both stories this issue are about races, and magical ones at that, featuring women who find themselves squaring off against their lovers (former or current) for the chance to win a great prize. In both stories, though, the actual prize might not matter as much as the competition itself, as the thrill of the race. Because when these characters are faced with what they’d do if they won, the results are...interesting. It’s a wonderfully fun pair of stories, expertly paired, and I’ll stop yammering on in introduction and just get to the reviews!
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| Art by Jereme Peabody |
“The Wild Ride of the Untamed Stars” by A.J. Fitzwater (2917 words)
No Spoilers: Cinrak is a capybara (as well as a pirate and a dozen other things as well) who joins a race in hopes of being offered the Queen’s hand. This is no ordinary race, and requires competitors to harness and ride sentient stars to a distant finish line. And Cinrak is no ordinary competitor, bold and with a slew of tricks up her sleeve. Unfortunately, she’s up against the very best—Lquolchi, a marmot and diva and one of Cinrak’s lovers. It’s a fast paced, tense read, where everything could go wrong and even if things go right there’s a strong possibility that someone’s getting hurt. Only the story maintains its aim and direction towards fun, building up this rodent race that’s thrilling and entertaining full of fantasy, wonder, and love.
Keywords: Racing, Rodents, Stars, Bargains, Queer MC
Review: Okay so I love how the story takes this initial fantasy element of a court of talking animals and just runs with it. I especially like that here is this collection of rodents all vying to a prize that none have ever won before—the hand of the Queen. It’s a premise that speaks of a sort of fantasy usually full of energy and fun, and I’m super happy to report that the result is just that. I feel that often when dealing with these kinds of settings, there is a trend to make them dark, to make them “mature” in ways that speak more of bleakness than they do age or maturity. Here I read no attempt to make the setting gritty or violent. The whole point of the race, after all, is to ride the stars without hurting them, to perhaps recognize their sentience and their value and further realize that the first star that the ancient queen had won is now a prisoner in need of being freed. The story is written for adults, casting Cinrak as a pirate with a number of lovers, but it doesn’t seek to equate being an adult (as Cinrak is) and requiring the story to be especially dark or tragic. There are violent elements, but the wonder of the piece remains, as does the hope and fun of it. Here are rodents that value consent and communications, who race out of love and out of wanting to defy convention by subverting it. It’s a wonderfully refreshing story, and I definitely recommend people check it out!
“The Ghostpotion Games” by Christian K. Martinez (2748 words)
No Spoilers: Erinia is competing for a wish. The competition is a race, though not one that she herself must run. Instead, the contest is about who can create the best avatar to run through a maze devised by nine empresses whose power is great enough to bend the rules of reality. And Erinia is determined to win, not least of all because she’s up against a former, lover, Isidore, whose skills are very much a match for Erinia’s. The piece is quick and rendered with a kinetic rush of action and banter. Erinia knows what she wants, and for all Isidore seems to have the edge because of the complexity of their creation, Erinia’s own ghost has some serious surprises. It’s a piece that introduces enough of the world for the competition to have a weight and importance to it, without bogging things down with too much explanation about the specifics of the magic of the rules of the game. The goal is simple and understandable—a wish. And the competition itself it fast, thrilling, and brilliantly magical.
Keywords: Competition, Mazes, Winning, Queer MC, Ghosts, Magic
Review: Magical competitions are often right up my alley. It might not be a magically cook-off (my personal weakness), but there is something wonderful about seeing practicioners crafting their very best to pit against each other in magical (but not physical) combat. It’s not about muscles and not about raw power, but rather about who can be more clever, more devious, and more skilled. In those things, Erinia and Isidore seem to be fairly equal, which is what makes so much of the competition thrilling. A good rivalry enhances all sides, after all, making the bout more entertaining to watch and infinitely more personal as the stakes shift from being only about the prize to becoming about pride and attraction and the satisfaction of a game well played. I love the flow of the piece, and the flavor of the world. The ghosts that the characters create are strange and visually interesting, really capturing the potential of magic to amazing and astound. It’s a bright piece, darkened only by a lingering question at the end, that for as much fun and enjoyment as the characters are getting out of this, how long has it been going on? Whatever the answer, the story provides a gripping read and a wonderful showcase of the magic possible in this world, and the play betwen Erinia and Isidore is wonderful and complex. It’s a really fun read, and it’s another I do not hesitate to recommend!
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