Agatha All Along – Full Series Breakdown

Hello Readers,

Witching hour has passed and with it the finale of popular Marvel show, Agatha All Along. Many fans are claiming it is one of the best MCU television shows that has been released in the last few years. It is a spin-off from the first show to debut on Disney+ in 2021, WandaVision. The character of Agatha Harkness made her first appearance as a supporting character who turns out to be a centuries-old witch rather than the friendly neighbour.

Agatha has a presence in the Marvel comics that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is based on but she has not had her own series such as Ms Marvel or others that have had the TV treatment. Even though we learned some of Agatha’s secrets in WandaVision, there is a lot more to her than we thought we knew.

Agatha All Along centres around the coven’s journey down the Witches Road. When Agatha realises that Wanda sapped her of her powers, she assembles a coven of witches and one mysterious teenager and they set off down, down the road.

Beware there will be spoilers for the full series of Agatha All Along so make sure to finish it first.

Agatha All Along (2024)

This Marvel series has been praised by many for its women-centered story arc and inclusion of LGBT+ characters which are typically rare in Marvel/Disney content. It is the perfect show for autumn with the two-episode finale airing on Halloween. There is a departure from the typical superhero theme, introducing supernatural elements but we still have the epic showdowns and complex plotlines that Marvel is known for.

With Wanda meeting her apparent demise in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, the continuation of the WandaVision story has pivoted to Agatha who remains under Wanda’s spell when we meet her in Westview. She believes she is a detective called Agnes but is really just trapped in the house that she took over from a resident of the town.

Teen comes along and knowing magic is able to free Agatha from the spell and cajoles her into going down the road. We don’t initially know why Teen wants to go down the Witches Road or even what his name is but Agatha is keen to get her magic back especially after a fight with Rio, her possible past paramore.

We get to meet other Witches in the area that are down on their luck and have resulted to mortal pursuits to keep their craft going. We have Lillia who reads fortunes; Jen who can make potions; Alice, a protection witch and Sharon or Mrs Hart with green fingers. All of these characters have complex back stories that gradually get revealed as the show goes on.

With the Salem Seven, a group of witches hunting Agatha on their tails, the coven summon the entrance to the road and start on their journey. The road takes the coven through a creepy wood with various trials appearing to test them. The trials were an interesting part of the journey as they broke up the story and gave the characters an opportunity to change outfits and use their abilities.

The first trial is in a house set in a ‘Big Little Lies’ universe although referred to in the show as Huge Tiny Lies. The group are in East Coast Summer outfits and the trial involves creating an antidote to some poisonous wine testing Jen’s potions’ abilities. Interesting parts of this one included the morphing of their faces done with prosthetics and we see the group start to bond. Unfortunately, it does not end well for Mrs Hart: the least qualified in the coven meets her demise.

The reappearance of Rio clearly rattles Agatha and the group gain a new Green Witch. Entering the next trial, there is a 1970s American rock theme with the coven in a recording studio. The trial focuses around Alice’s past as her mother was a famous singer in the 70s whose version of the Ballad of the Witches’ Road became an international hit. Unfortunately, Lorna Wu died in a hotel fire which is represented by a fire demon, introducing more magical elements to the show. We see the group harmonise together while singing and playing the song and also Rio manages to reveal some of Agatha’s secrets to the group.

The third trial is with an 80s slumber party theme and with Rio revealing that Teen is not Agatha’s son, Nicholas Scratch, we learn more about their relationship and it also deepens the mystery of who Teen could be. With possession and Ouija boards on the menu, the coven start telling each other more than they would plan to otherwise. Agatha loses control and absorbs Alice’s magic, leaving her an empty husk. Rio takes charge and Teen ends up in mortal peril.

After a stereotypical broomstick ride and Rio dispersing after causing chaos, we finally learn that Teen is Billy Maximoff but he was also someone else. In his past, he is a normal Jewish boy living in nearby Eastview with his parents. His name is William Kaplan. Lillia puts a sigil on him to hide his true nature from witches, possibly protecting him from Rio and Agatha. When William dies in a car crash, the soul of Billy Maximoff enters his body just as Wanda is breaking down the hex.

Billy is now in a new body and over the next three years transforms William’s room into a witches’ paradise complete with posters from the Wizard of Oz, The Craft and Houdini. Billy doesn’t remember being William Kaplan but assimilates into his life with his parents and finding a boyfriend. Having the pair kiss on screen is rare but I think was important to show that these characters have many sides to them.

Billy meets Ralph Bohner with the support of boyfriend, Eddie and learns that Wanda had two sons connecting his memory of her to the truth. Ralph has fled Westview after being trapped in Wanda’s spell and Agatha having taken over his house. In the scene where we see that Agatha was just in the house imagining she was a detective, she is wearing a Bohner Family Reunion t-shirt.

Billy then went looking for Agatha believing in the power of the road and hoping to use it to find his brother, Tommy. Rather than being in the police station, Billy was under interrogation in Agatha’s living room.

With this new information revealed about Billy and his new found powers as Wiccan, a character from the comics; the coven face a trial with a famous witches theme seeing Billy as Maleficent, Agatha as the Wicked Witch of the West, Lillia as Glinda and Jen as the witch from Snow White.

Lillia’s odd moments are revealed as her actually experiencing time in a non-linear fashion, something that happened to her as a young witch in Sicily. The trial involves reading a successful tarot or getting impaled by a sword and with Lillia travelling to other scenes in the show she finally learns her fate and sacrifices herself so the others can continue with the road, knowing it is finally her time to meet Death.

The final episodes show the last trial where Jen and Billy are released from the Road and Agatha faces up to her past. We learn of her son, Nicholas and their life in the 1700s. We also learn that the Road was never real and Agatha pretended to take witches down the road and then take their power from them, keeping herself living. Billy unconsciously created the Road and the trials with the clues being dotted around his bedroom. The final showdown goes on between Rio and Agatha, the first having revealed herself to be Death and having a past relationship with Agatha. The pair kiss which made history as the first lesbian kiss in an MCU film or show. She granted Nicholas more life than he was meant to have but claiming his life at seven sent Agatha on her path of absorbing the magic of other witches.

Agatha is defeated but later appears to Billy as a ghost and the two decide to find Tommy with Billy having granted his soul a body when a boy is drowned by bullies at the local swimming pool.

The writing, design and overall production of Agatha All Along was amazing and different to anything Marvel have done in the past. I enjoyed the female-heavy cast given the male-centric nature of the first Marvel films. The casting was great featuring some newcomers such as Joe Locke, in his second ever on-screen role and well-known actresses Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza and Patti Lupone. The practical sets of the Road and the trials were really well done, not forgetting the added CG elements and VFX.

I think this is a series that will reach a lot of different audience members who do not typically enjoy other Marvel products or want a more inclusive and diverse cast. I watched this show each week when it came out and it would be great to do a binge of WandaVision and Agatha All Along as the two run on from each other. It was not completely necessary to have seen WandaVision before this show but if you want to start following the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I would recommend watching it as well as Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.

I rate it 5/5 and will be re-watching in the future.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

Film Review: How ‘We Live In Time’ has restructured the Rom-Com

Hi Readers,

The cinema, for me, is normally a place for big blockbusters or films I know will look good on the big screen. Nothing has caught my eye for a few months so when I saw that the new Florence Pugh/Andrew Garfield film was in cinemas where I currently am, I decided to check it out.

What separates it from the usual affair is that the film is not told in chronological order. The typical story structure is beginning, middle and ending but this film played around with it making it different from what could have been a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. The love story of Almut and Tobias jumps around various events in their relationship. We don’t get much of their lives without each other apart from a focus on Almut’s profession as a chef and Tobias after his divorce.

I thought that this idea was interesting and while I am usually an advocate for stories being told in the right order with accuracy, I didn’t mind the time jumping as there was no true story details missing or big plot details absent. It did take me a minute to get used to it but when you were invested, I felt that you could enjoy the scenes individually that contributed to their story as a whole rather than the film showing the plot in the specific order. As the film becomes older, I am sure someone will edit it into the traditional order as I have seen happen to other film or TV programmes that like to jump around the timelines.

We Live in Time (2024)

This film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival a couple of months ago and will be released in the UK on New Year’s Day. However it is already in the cinema in some territories such as the US. It was also shown at this year’s BFI London Film Festival. When I saw it was showing early where I am, I was excited to see something from the festivals as I was not able to attend any screenings at the London Film Festival this year.

Ordinarily, I tend to wait for romantic comedies to come on streaming or watch ones that debut there but I do like to make exceptions. If there had been other more cinematic films out at the same time, it might not have made my list but with the chatter from various press and the meme about the carousel horse on the poster, I was intrigued.

Florence Pugh is an actress I have followed for a few years since she starred in the Oscar-winning Little Women and Fighting with my Family that was set and filmed in my home town. She is a very interesting and dynamic actress who says so much with slight expressions on her face. I have loved her in Dune: Part 2; Black Widow; Oppenheimer and Don’t Worry Darling and her other projects such as The Little Drummer Girl, The Boy and the Heron and Midsommar are well-liked.

Her performance in We Live in Time was good for the role as she presented the many sides to her character: the girlfriend; the chef; the competitor; the daughter; the mother; the figure skater and the cancer patient. She was not someone who was going to be content with settling down and being a doting housewife so it was great to see a focus on her career and journey as Almut. The one thing I struggled with was seeing her as mid 30s up to mid 40s as there wasn’t much to age her up apart from a fringe and winged eyeliner in her younger days. This wasn’t too much of an issue as I enjoyed the film but I would have maybe given her a few more facial lines.

Andrew Garfield was almost a supporting second to Florence. Most of their scenes were shared and apart from just before their meeting, we don’t have many scenes of Andrew alone. We learn he works for Weetabix but only get a glimpse of his job and never meet his friends or family apart from his father. We get to meet Almut’s mother, twin brothers, sister and many of her friends and co-workers. This film plays to Andrew’s strengths as the awkward, quiet guy who we’ve seen him play in The Amazing Spider-Man and tick, tick… BOOM! I did think that he was maybe a little old to play opposite Florence as a 40 year old but he has quite a young energy to him. I like that his character Tobias was very encouraging of Almut’s dreams and despite their arguments, he still supported her especially at the end with her chef aspirations.

The film was quite a gentle one peppered with some emotional or dramatic scenes such as their daughter’s birth in the petrol station bathroom. I think these scenes are good to set off the slower or sadder scenes in films like these. The cancer element added an extra level that you don’t see in typical American rom-coms/ chick flicks.

The director’s other films, Brooklyn and The Goldfinch had similar emotional peaks that gave them an edge over standard dramas. I thought this film was very British in its nature with many phrases and situations being very intrinsic to the British experience so I think audiences who have enjoyed other British films like Notting Hill (1999) and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) would enjoy this one too.

I thought the film was well thought out and despite being told in a different order, it still made sense and it was sometimes good to know what was coming as it made the sadder scenes more hopeful. The music and settings all fitted in well and even though many of the supporting characters floated in and out there were known actors that were good such as Lee Braithwaite who played Almut’s commis chef; Kerry Godliman in the petrol station scene; Douglas Hodge as Tobias’ father and Adam James as Almut’s mentor/former boss.

Overall, I thought the film was enjoyable with a great cast and a lovely story. It will definitely be one in the future that audiences will put on at home on a cosy winter’s evening to watch. It does have minimal nudity so is marked as a 15 but along the same vein as Love Actually (2003) so not particularly intense or graphic. I give it 4.5/5.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

My Film/TV/Theatre September Highlights

Hello Readers,

As the nights get shorter and we settle into the autumn season, I want to reflect on a film, television programme and play that I enjoyed in September. I must confess that I have not been attending the cinema as regularly as I did earlier in the year but with more to watch on the television and the end of summer lull, there have been slim pickings for my tastes.

However, before the awards season films get started, there have been some gems and I have picked one from each medium to review. My choices are quite varied, all different genres and all I enjoyed for different reasons. Back to Black is a feature length drama chronicling the life and career of Amy Winehouse. It was released in cinemas earlier in the year and was recently added to Netflix in the UK. Starring Marisa Abela (Industry) as Winehouse along with Jack O’Connell (Skins), Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes) and Lesley Manville (The Crown).

Nightsleeper is a six part thriller series that was shown on BBC and still available on BBC IPlayer. It stars Joe Cole (Gangs of London), Alexandra Roach (No Offence) and Sharon Rooney (Barbie) among the talented cast.

Prima Facie, Jodie Comer’s hit one-woman play was on the West End and Broadway in 2022/23 earning her multiple accolades and was recorded for National Theatre Live. It arrived back in cinemas for a limited engagement mid-September where I saw it for the first time.

Film

Back to Black (2024)

This film was met with some controversy by those who knew Amy as it depicted her desire to have a family but those featured generally approved of the story. As opposed to Amy (2015), this film is a dramatised and condensed version of Amy’s rise to success and her up and down relationship with her partner, Blake, her father and addiction. It tells a specific journey through her first record deal and debut album, Frank (2003) and her record-breaking second and final album, Back to Black (2006). We see a focus on her relationship with her grandmother, Cynthia who is her style and singing inspiration; her father, Mitch one of her cheerleaders who turned a blind eye to her addictions and her partner and then husband, Blake.

At the beginning of the film, we see Amy as she is before success: more innocent with a bland boyfriend and living in the utility room at her mother’s house. Her mother, while shown as a supportive parent takes a back seat in the film which seems to suggest that they are not very close due to her limited screen time. This could have been her objections to the film or simply as the relationship was not as interesting or dramatic as Amy’s other relationships.

We see Amy land a record deal with her friend’s help. Her father is very encouraging but Amy is unhappy with the label trying to market her as a pop icon. As she states she is not a Spice Girl. We see snippets of her in LA recording the album but more of the affect it has on her. Her relationship with Blake is shown more in depth from their meeting in a pub playing pool to Amy making her feelings known. Their relationship starts out sweet with a date at London Zoo and spending summer days drinking on Primrose Hill. We see him introduce her to drugs including Class As which she previously would have declined.

After a fight with Blake and subsequent split, we see her record Back to Black with the eponymous song about Blake going back to his ex-girlfriend while Amy didn’t have anyone, especially with her grandmother passing away. She is now sporting her iconic beehive and thick winged eyeliner credited to her love of 1960s bands. Amy is enjoying success and this is of course when Blake comes back and the two wed in Miami. She performs at Glastonbury and at the Grammy’s via web link but after Blake’s arrest and imprisonment, her personal life is once again suffering. The last few years of Amy’s life are not shown but we hear of Blake’s new girlfriend and baby.

Having done more research since watching the film, while it was approved by Amy’s family, critics felt it was a very sanitised version of her life and showed Blake and Mitch in a better light than in real life. We didn’t see much of her friends either apart from one innocent trip to Camden Market even though many of her friends were in the music business. We also did not hear of her other relationships apart from Blake and her boyfriend at the beginning.

Despite these criticisms, I think the film overall was very powerful and gave a side to Amy that many people may have forgotten or not known: her drive and what it took for her to perform. I thought Marisa Abela gave a great performance as Amy. She had great expressions and she portrayed the script that was given well. It was a good drama that highlighted important events of Amy’s life, whether some things were embellished, I am not too sure.

I think fans would like the film and as a film fan, I did enjoy it especially as the actors picked were all very good. It captured a particular moment in music history and it was interesting to see Camden back in the 2000s. I give it 4/5.

Television

Nightsleeper (2024)

I have watched many BBC dramas over the years but Nightsleeper definitely is one of the best I have seen. I actually watched it twice in the space of a week as I needed my family to watch it so we could talk about it. This is not usual for me as I rarely even re-watch films I have enjoyed never mind a six hour long show.

What kept me hooked was the real time jeopardy as the show is set over one evening with one hour being one episode. We have a modern day issue, cyberhacking with a old plot line – will the train stop in time? – and cliffhangers to keep you on the edge of your seat at the end of every episode. I binged four episodes in a row as when I reached the end of the episode, I just had to watch on to find out what would happen.

The show has multiple settings flicking between a train and the National Centre for Cyber Security as well as Victoria Station. The train in question is a night sleeper service between Glasgow and London which is meant to take around six hours from midnight to 6am. At first, we see the characters board the train with a chase through the carriage for a stolen bag. The train is delayed and before its first stop we see that a device has been fitted to take remote control. Former police officer, Joe takes charge and using a satellite phone contacts Abby at the NCCS in Victoria. She delays getting on her holiday flight and with her friend heads back to the office.

After the majority of the passengers disembark at the first stop, the train takes off on its own with a dozen still on board. It’s then a race against the clock to divert the train and find the group behind the hacking. Just when you think you have something figured out, another spanner is thrown in the works and it could be anyone behind it.

I think there was a great array of British talent in the cast with a mix of English, Scottish, Welsh and others in lead roles. We see a chemistry between Joe and Abby despite not sharing a screen and everyone gelled well together. I had a soft spot for Tobi representing younger people and he held his own with his peers. I thought the actor playing Mouse, the only child in the show did well acting with more experienced adults and being the centre of some intense scenes.

Criticisms I have heard for the show are about the cheesy dialogue which I felt in the last episode but overall I thought was natural and the way British people interact with each other, particularly in an unusual situation. No one gave away their roles in the hacking but on my second viewing you can see how the camera work gives clues by cutting to those to whom the dialogue alludes.

If you like typical BBC thrillers or dramas, I would definitely recommend this one and it was better watched at night but start it early as it may be one to binge. I give it 5/5.

Theatre

National Theatre Live: Prima Facie (2022)

This play was on my watchlist for a while simply because of Jodie Comer and her acting talent. I am not sure why I wasn’t aware of it the first time round but when I heard it was coming back to cinemas, I made sure to book a ticket. I vaguely knew that she was a lawyer but I didn’t even know it was a one-woman outing.

The set was really different from anything I have seen on the stage before with a giant wall of folders and minimal staging with two tables, a few chairs and a suitcase of props. Jodie is known for her accent and drama work but the humour she managed to inject into essentially a two hour monologue was not something I expected.

I must confess that the first section confused me as I was not anticipating the continuous stream of dialogue and she was using a lot of legal language but once the story got started I was captivated. There was a short interlude perhaps 45 minutes from the end but no real interval so the play really drew me in. It tells the story of Tess, a successful criminal barrister from the North who has managed to make it into the boys club in London. She frequently defends her male clients accused of sexual assault and is good at her job. She thinks little of the affect her work has on the victims until she starts a dalliance with a colleague. After a tryst at work and one successful date, Tess finds herself becoming a victim of assault from her colleague. Everything she knows goes out of the window and she switches to the place of prosecution and witness.

Even though Jodie was the only actor on stage, she had such a strong presence that I sometimes forgot that she was the only person we ever see. Her continuous monologuing while acting out scenarios painted the picture of all the characters in Tess’ life including her mother, her university friends, her work friends and the police.

The use of the stage was really interesting with Jodie changing costume multiple times and manipulating the furniture to create different spaces. In the darkest part of the story, rain falls on Tess as it does in the story and then a counter adds up the days between the assault and the court case – over 2 years in total. Jodie’s awards for this role were very well deserved and even remembering the amount of dialogue would be a feat but she lent a brevity and seriousness to the role at the appropriate times. While the subject matter is serious, there were funny moments, often conveyed with physical comedy.

If you like theatre or drama in general, I would recommend this show. It may be released on streaming at some point but seeing it on the big screen was a special event. I would give it 5/5.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

New Perspectives: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice – Can a sequel almost 40 years later really improve a cult classic?

Hi Readers,

It has been a while since my New Perspectives series. When I started posting again on my blog over a year ago, my first post was a review of the Little Mermaid after attending a cast and crew screening. Now the first film project I worked on is in the cinemas and I attended a cast and crew screening again for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Despite working on the film almost 18 months ago, it was amazing to see some of the scenes in their complete form and what had changed in the final cut. I only did three short scenes so I felt that I didn’t really have much inside knowledge of the film as a whole or even any special plot details. When working on the film, I didn’t really know much about Beetlejuice and the following it has gained since its release in 1988.

I saw the original film a few days before the sequel and I was pleasantly surprised. In my head, I had built it up to be a gruesome tale with lots of goo and bugs combined with 80s practical effects and outdated plots. However, I discovered this was not the case and I can see why many people cite it as a childhood or adulthood favourite.

I had no idea that Alec Baldwin and Geena Davies were basically the leads of the film or that they played ghosts, I barely knew who or what Beetlejuice was. The effects used were a little dated especially the visual effects in the afterlife scenes but all the practical stuff held up well and was not too gooey or gory. Beetlejuice himself was a bit of a garish character but didn’t appear for the 1st third and was much more palatable. The only slight dated things were the fact that he wanted to marry Lydia played by a 15-year-old Winona Ryder but as she strongly objected and it ended up not happening, I don’t think this was too strong an issue.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

The sequel to Beetlejuice has been very hyped up with the cast going on a press tour and the film opening the Venice Film Festival. I think part of the reason is that Tim Burton rarely revisits his projects and so many of the original cast were really keen to make the film happen. I read that it has been an idea since 1990 so I am sure that they are all pleased it has finally happened. Winona Ryder had a Beetlejuice clause in her Stranger Things contract that if the sequel ever happened that she would be allowed to go and film it. Luckily, it was filmed when Stranger Things was on a break.

Jenna Ortega is the new star of the film having previously collaborated with Tim Burton on Wednesday, Series 2 is now in production. She has gained a reputation in the industry for loving all things horror just like Winona Ryder back in the 1980s and 90s. Her outfits on the press tour have even echoed some of Ryder’s from films or real life together with nods to Beetlejuice.

One of my qualms with the first Beetlejuice was that it took place mostly in the house, now referred to as the Ghost House because the ghosts couldn’t leave otherwise, they would end up in the afterlife. With the main characters – Lydia, Astrid and Delia, all still alive we get to see more of the world of Winter River and their lives further afield.

The film starts with showing an overview of the town as in the first film. We get to see a grown-up Lydia (Ryder) in her TV studio making her show about ghosts. It seems she has used her ability from the first film to make a career for herself. She is also dating her producer, Rory (Justin Theroux) who exhibits some controlling tendencies. Her daughter, Astrid (Ortega) is at a boarding school outside New York and having trouble fitting in. Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara) is a famous artist with an exhibition in the city including some of her interesting sculptures from the first film. We see one outside Astrid’s school along with the Deetz Center for Art.

The three are pulled together after the death of Charles, their husband/father/grandfather. They gather at the Ghost House in Winter River for the funeral, during which Rory proposes to Lydia, setting the date for 2 days time – Halloween, her favourite holiday but also traditionally spooky.

Astrid meets Jeremy, a lonely teen in his tree house who shows her a way to access the afterlife and see her father, who died on a trip to the Amazon. Lydia meanwhile is doing everything in her powers to keep Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice – Michael Keaton) at bay, knowing the trouble he caused for her and the family before. A well-meaning Rory summons him for some closure but this only intensifies Betelgeuse’s obsession with Lydia, of whom he has a framed photo.

His life in the underworld has expanded with a whole office of shrunken-headed Bobs working on typewriters for him. Unfortunately, a cleaner (Danny Devito) manages to disturb some storage and his undead ex-wife, Delores (Monica Bellucci) reforms and begins her search for him. She is not pleased to see his desires for Lydia.

Delia tries to commune with her dead husband after seeing how his death has affected her ability to produce her art. We also see Charles’ journey in the underworld trying to find Delia. A former actor playing cop (Willem Dafoe) is also on the hunt for Betelgeuse, believing him to be linked to Delores’ trail of murders.

Many elements of the first film have been expanded upon including the afterlife with a similar look but with more elaborate sets and new dead people, all having transformed into unique creatures after their deaths. We also see the desert place complete with sandworms. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davies were not in this film and I think that was a good decision as it would have tied it to the house too much. Geena Davies explained the absence recently by saying that ghosts stay the same age so they wouldn’t look the part anymore. Apparently, Tim Burton was keen for Baldwin to make a comeback but ultimately, I think the focus on the women of the family was a good plot point.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Lydia, Astrid and Delia. They didn’t try to make them band together in the face of adversity but I think by the end of the film some of their rifts had been healed after their brush with the underworld again.

Working on the project, I knew some scenes and plot points but there was still a lot I didn’t know and I felt I could still enjoy the film and be surprised by parts. The cast and crew have talked about the practical sets but VFX was used to enhance these and I think made the film better. The invisible effects used sometimes get overlooked by audiences as they tend to focus on CGI characters but even lightening a scene, adding extras or touching up the actor’s appearance is visual effects.

Overall, I really enjoyed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and I think it was even better than the first film using modern technology and an expanded cast to explore more of the universe and gave us a female powered story.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

Deadpool and Wolverine Review – Spoiler Special

Hello Readers,

As the grass gets browner and conkers start falling from the trees, I bring you a spoiler special of the film Deadpool and Wolverine. It has been in UK cinemas about a month now but if you haven’t managed to watch it yet please turn away now!

This film was highly anticipated, not only as the third (final?) film in the Deadpool franchise but also the first since the Fox and Disney merger bringing Deadpool, the X-Men and a whole host of other 20th Century Fox characters into the Marvel Universe. Seeing the typical Marvel credits before the film started was really exciting.

Now, the marketing for the film had a massive worldwide tour with the cast and crew heading from China and South Korea to Berlin, London, Rio de Janeiro and then New York, Toronto and finally San Diego Comic Con. The main attraction of the film is that it sees long-time friends and co-stars Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds go head to head as Wolverine and Deadpool.

Now you may be thinking that Wolverine sadly died in the film Logan (2017) and he did but with the MCU and the multiverse now in play, there are many Wolverines that mainly look like Hugh Jackman. He also now comes in yellow to Deadpool’s red by recreating the iconic superhero suit that Wolverine wore in the comics. Red and yellow has been a big theme on the tour with Blake Lively wearing red to the New York Premiere and her friend and model, Gigi Hadid wearing yellow.

Blake Lively is notably Ryan Reynolds’ wife but Gigi Hadid attending did give me a clue to a star of the film or so I thought.

Deadpool and Wolverine (2024)

I really enjoyed the film. I saw it on IMAX about a week after it came out and apart from a couple of things I avoided all the big spoilers. I used to rush to the cinema on opening night for Marvel films with the fear of being spoiled by social media but now it seems that people are less interested in posting everything at once or maybe my algorithms are different.

The film in summary is style over substance. All of the character building between Wade Wilson and his group has largely disappeared in this film but it has made way for some surprising and funny parts instead.

We find Wade trying to assimilate to ‘muggle’ life after being rejected from the Avengers by Happy Hogan. A keen fan online pointed out that the image of Peter Parker and Tony Stark in Happy’s office had been covered so only Tony was visible. At this point in time, Peter Parker has been forgotten by everyone so this was a clever Easter egg.

Wade has his friend Peter, pretty much the only one left from his version of the X-Men in Deadpool 2 that unfortunately ended in a lot of bloodshed. However, he still has his other friends who all gather for his birthday including Dopinder, Yukio and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. It appears that Wade and Vanessa have gone their separate ways but remain amicable.

Wade is then kidnapped by the TVA as seen in the series Loki and is basically forced on a mission to help them save the sacred timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They think he would be a worthy addition but don’t count on the fact that he doesn’t want his universe including his friends to blink out of existence.

A very fun title sequence with a fight/dance to Bye Bye Bye sees Deadpool defeating various TVA agents and making sure that Wolverine is quite dead. He then goes universe hopping to find a suitable Wolverine to help him stop the TVA from pruning his timeline.

He ended up with a Wolverine from a universe that is an alcoholic and led to the destruction of all the X-Men. He also wears the yellow suit from the comics. Together the pair end up banished into the void where they meet many other variants from pruned timelines.

This is where the cameos really begin. We see Chris Evans not as Captain America but as Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, Wesley Snipes as Blade and Dafne Keen as Laura from Logan.

We also get a few new characters with Channing Tatum as Gambit and Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, a twin of Charles Xavier who uses her mind reading powers by digging into people’s skulls. Cassandra was banished to the void for her world ending powers. There is also a giant smoky monster – Alioth as seen in Loki who manages to consume some characters in the void.

There are way more cameos and appearances from known items that I didn’t spot when watching it as I haven’t seen some of the earlier 20th Century Fox films or read the comics but there are fans who have probably spotted much more than I did. There were also a few actors from past X-Men films who I didn’t recognise but it was amazing that Ryan Reynolds and the team managed to bring so many people together and give all these characters a send off into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

We also meet many other Deadpool variants including Ladypool played by Blake Lively and not by Gigi Hadid as I first thought. There was Nicepool played by a Canadian Ryan Reynolds complete with Dogpool/Mary Puppins and long flowing locks; Kidpool and Babypool played by Ryan and Blake’s kids; Headpool voiced by Nathan Fillion; Cowboy Deadpool voiced by Matthew McConaughey and Welshpool played by a member of Wrexham FC famously owned by Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

There were so many references to the filmography of Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds including Music Man, Les Miserables, The Proposal. I think the fourth wall jokes are part of what is appealing about Deadpool and not that I didn’t enjoy the first two but with a more Disney-ified approach; the violence and drugs part was toned down. Not that it wasn’t violent but the fight scenes were more comical with iconic songs and mostly between characters that regenerate.

The big finale where Wolverine sacrifices himself was quite emotional, taking in the history of the Wolverine character but in the end, Deadpool joins him and the two immortal heroes save the timelines together from the TVA. This sequence is sound-tracked to A Little Prayer by Madonna and makes for an epic end sequence.

I am sure that there are many story points I have missed out, such as the fight in the Honda Odyssey between Deadpool and Wolverine but I have hit on the main points. This film was definitely a blockbuster rather than anything poignant but that was part of the appeal. Not everything needs to be carrying the plot along all the time. Even the end credit scene didn’t add anything which is unusual for Marvel.

My favourite parts of the film were the chemistry between Hugh and Ryan and all the little asides from Deadpool hinting at different things. There was also an interesting scene where Deadpool is shown a clip of Thor crying from an upcoming film possibly but I have also seen it was from Thor: The Dark World so who knows if Thor and Deadpool will interact in the future.

It’s great to see these characters get the Disney treatment with upcoming films for the Fantastic Four and Blade as well as new Avengers films, Captain America and the Thunderbolts. Many films were made with lower budgets pre-Iron Man and while some have become cult classics, others were not as well received.

I thought that the MCU would taper with Avengers: Endgame but with the multiverse in play along with 20th Century Fox characters, anything is possible.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

If You Feel It, Chase It: Tornado time for the revival of classic 90s disaster film

Hi Readers,

If, like me you love a disaster film, then I would recommend Twisters. It’s a stand-alone reboot of a classic film from 1996 – Twister and this time we’ve got Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and some dodgy politics. When visual effects and CGI started becoming more widely used in films, audiences were able to see never-seen-before events. In 2024, visual effects have to be almost invisible for the every man to be impressed.

Having worked in visual effects, I enjoyed the weather effects that were created and they looked very realistic. With advances in technology, we saw the use of drones and 3D mapping software as well as the social media effect on storm chasing.

Twisters (2024)

The opening scenes establish the character of Kate and her friends as they go on a storm chase as part of a research project. Javi (Anthony Ramos) is the grumpy one of the group who appears to be not as enthusiastic as the rest of the gang. When an EF 5 tornado hits the area, the group rush to collect data in the hope of testing Kate’s invention to stop tornadoes in their tracks. Unfortunately, it was much bigger than expected and Kate’s (Daisy Edgar-Jones) three closest friends including her boyfriend, Jeb (Daryl McCormack) are dragged into the wind tunnel.

Cut to five years later, Kate is living a sensible yet boring life in New York City, working at the weather centre, sending alerts to those in Tornado Valley. Her old friend Javi comes back into her life and persuades her to join his military backed storm chasing squad complete with state-of-the-art technology and pristine vehicles. They are funded by a mysterious Marshall Riggs, a real-estate tycoon in the Midwest.

Kate goes back to her native Oklahoma and comes across Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) and his team of rambunctious amateurs, filming their escapes for their popular YouTube channel and with a British journalist in tow who clearly doesn’t know what he has gotten himself into. At first Kate is on Javi’s side and sees Tyler and his friends as show-offs who like to ride danger and are just making money from their devoted fans. She has a few flash backs from the deaths of her friends and Javi’s co-worker, Scott (David Corenswet) is not pleased.

Kate was brought along for her apparent psychic gift of predicting which tornadoes will hold and which will disappear into the clouds. Her and Tyler compete for the best storms with her misdirecting him a few times until she sees the work that he and his group do to help those affected by the tornadoes. They sell merchandise to be able to give free meals to people who have just lost everything. They also stay and help clear up which is more than Storm Par and Javi’s team do.

Through Tyler and Javi and a visit to her mother, Kate finds her passion for storm chasing again.

The film has some big names behind the scenes with Steven Spielberg credited as Executive Producer as well as writers, producers of films such as Jurassic World and Top Gun: Maverick. The production design was great and I loved that the scenes were filmed in Oklahoma rather than a giant lot in Atlanta or London. It gave a very authentic vibe and made it seem more natural.

I loved the story arc and the action scenes as both contributed to making the film an exciting watch. Daisy Edgar-Jones was great as her character with her accent and manner and you could see in her movements and facial expressions that the anguish of losing her boyfriend and friends still weighed on her as she believed it was her fault.

Glen Powell was also great in his role. As a native Texan, he was a good pick for Tyler and while he just seems to be the naive jock of the storm chasing world, you gradually find out there is more to him than meets the eye. His looks and confident persona can make you think that he is a surface level character but everyone has layers to them.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film and even though I have not seen the original, the two were not linked so you can enjoy the sequel without prior knowledge. Disaster films are one of my favourite genres and this was a great addition. I give it 5/5.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

A Quiet Place: Day One – Does the prequel hold up to the first two parts?

Hi Readers,

I have been a fan of the A Quiet Place franchise since watching the first film at the cinema in 2018. It was a familiar concept – family living in a post-apocalyptic world, surviving on scarce resources and trying to make the best of it. Except the film has a unique twist where the creatures that invaded Earth have super hearing and poor vision so any sounds made – talking, footsteps, eating could alert them to your presence.

I remember at the time there was a lot of discussion around people being too afraid to eat their popcorn in the screenings due to the use of sound. It created a new type of horror/thriller where you could evade death by living a silent existence.

A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

Six years on and two films later we have joined a different group of people in New York on the first day that the creatures – ‘Death Angels’ fall to Earth. The story focuses on Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), a young woman living in a hospice outside the city, presumably with a type of cancer. A group takes a trip to a puppet show in Manhattan with the nurse (Alex Wolff) and this is when disaster strikes. Sam manages to get back to the theatre where many people are sheltering including her friend Reuben (Wolff) and a young family that they met earlier in the film including Henri (Djimon Hounsou) when his son was interested in Sam’s cat, Frodo that accompanies her.

With buildings collapsing around them and subways being flooded, people start migrating. You gradually see the realisation that the creatures attack you if you make noise through a long shot of National Guards, ambulances and police using loud speakers and radios. Helicopters start flying over the city saying to head south with caution as the creatures cannot swim and they will evacuate by boat.

Sam is not as interested in heading there but instead plans to head to Harlem where she was raised to grab possibly the last Patsy’s pizza that will exist. This was her plan before the attacks and she continues in her quest knowing that without hospitals/medicine she doesn’t have long to live.

About a quarter/half way into the film we meet our second lead, Eric (Joseph Quinn) when he bursts out of the water of a flooded subway in business attire. He is British and in NYC for law school. While Sam and Frodo are more blase about the world falling apart, Eric has a will to keep going and a gentle caring nature. When the pair shelter in Sam’s old apartment, he learns more about her former life as a poet and her proclivity to carry a notebook is one of the things that elongates their survival.

I thought the film was very intense with some great jump scares and thrilling sequences but I would not say it was particularly scary. The grumpy/sunshine dynamic of Sam and Eric was interesting with Frodo acting as kitty in the middle. The cat actors were very good and I think with only three main characters, there were a lot of reactions and scenes based around Frodo which enhanced the film. As the cat does not speak, it is not as much of a liability as the people and can weave among the creatures with more ease.

I thought the late introduction of Eric was strange at first but in real life, you don’t find friends right away after a big life event so this seemed more realistic. Eric came in at a time when Sam was ready to give up on her quest and life in general but he gave her reason to keep going and security for Frodo.

The film was entirely shot in the UK with the actors and I suspect aerial shots of New York added in but the set decoration and extras were very convincing. The choice of a character with a terminal condition may be an odd one for a protagonist as the audience does not know whether she will make it to the end even without the creatures attacking but it definitely gave an interesting perspective to the film.

Personally, I would have liked to see some of her life before her diagnosis in more than just stories/photos and more of her reluctant friendship with the nurse, Reuben. I would have liked Eric to be introduced earlier but I understand why he wasn’t.

The action and sequences were great and really kept you on the edge of your seat. This was definitely a film to watch on the big screen and I almost regret not seeing it in IMAX. I won’t spoil the ending but I thought the last sequence was particularly moving.

If the creators choose to follow on with the characters it would be great to see the family from the first two films meet up with the characters from New York for an epic conclusion perhaps where the creatures are defeated.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film and it would be interesting to watch the first two films again to see the evolution of the franchise and which parts of the lore were taken from the first films.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

The Bikeriders: Violence and leather jackets meets 1960s Chicago in critically divisive drama

Hello Readers,

If you’re anything like me and have been monitoring what’s coming up in the film world, then you will have heard of the Bikeriders. It has been highly anticipated for quite a while with an A-List cast and based on true events, it generated a buzz.

Now that that film has been on general release at the cinemas, the reviews have come in and not all are favourable. Speaking to different friends who have seen the film, some loved it and some not so much. I have heard descriptions such as “too violent” and “lacked any plot”. Others have described it as capturing a moment in time and showcasing the best of the leads (Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer and Austin Butler).

Now that I have seen the film myself, I want to give my opinions.

The Bikeriders (2024)

This film explores a point in history that has been largely brushed aside for the shining lights of Hollywood or the grit and protests of New York City. The Midwest was a time for outlaws and Danny Lyon captured that in his book of photographs and transcribed interviews. Danny has been incorporated into the film being played by Mike Faist where all the characters acknowledge him and talk freely with him. We see the characters through the eyes of Kathy (Jodie Comer) who becomes involved with Benny (Austin Butler), a key member of the Chicago Vandals, a motorcycle club.

The club is led by Johnny (Tom Hardy) and originally started as a social organisation with a clubhouse/bar and picnics for family and friends. Over time, it becomes more violent with turf wars and young upstarts creating drama for the club and its members. Michael Shannon (Zipco); Norman Reedus (Funny Sonny); Boyd Holbrook (Cal) and Damon Herriman (Brucie) play other notable members of the Vandals. Kathy initially likes being noticed by Benny and when her boyfriend leaves her after his pursuit, she marries him. Benny has a strong temper and often gets into fights which people who hate the gang, want to join the gang or annoy him in general.

We see Danny in his time with the gang and then again when he comes back in 1973 to interview Kathy about what happened to the gang. One change is the introduction of The Kid played by Toby Wallace, who is desperate to join the gang but is told he is too young.

I thought the acting in the film was all amazing especially Jodie and Austin. Jodie has always been great at accents and her Chicago accent threw me at first at it was so different but the more the film went on, I realised the effort she put in to sound authentic. Austin Butler’s character also seemed very unlike his real self, very violent and quick-tempered. You could see in his face how much the club and sense of belonging mattered to him. Tom Hardy’s performance I felt was very much in his wheelhouse and he did not do much to differentiate from other American tough guys that he has played in the past. He mumbled quite a lot which did fit with the character but it felt to me as though it was a cover for the accent.

The setting, production design and costumes was all great and really showed the amount of research that had been done. As the book that this was based on was more a photographers guide rather than a real narrative, the film didn’t have much of a strong narrative arc and you often felt lost in time at points other than Kathy’s interviews.

The writer and director, Jeff Nichols is from the Midwest himself and is known for period Midwest/Western films so it was definitely a great project for him. Personally, I did not think the film was too violent and could have been worse but there were a few moments where I had to look away or cringed.

In my opinion, I thought the film was a worthy venture with an excellent cast and setting but would have worked a little better for the average viewer with more structure and Tom Hardy could have put more into his portrayal of Johnny. Overall, the film was enjoyable especially at the cinema with surround sound but I am not going to rush to re-watch it when it comes on streaming.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

Double Film Review: The Fall Guy and Challengers – What I have loved at the cinema in May

Hello Readers,

Today I am bringing you my thoughts of two of the most anticipated films of 2024 – The Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt and Challengers – Luca Guadagnino’s erotic tennis drama starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.

Both have been heavily advertised with premiere events around the world. Ryan Gosling made a statement by dressing up as one half of the cartoon duo Beavis and Butt-Head along with SNL actor Mikey Day, reprising their roles from the popular Saturday night sketch show. Another event saw a stunt performed where stuntmen broke through the film poster dressed in a similar suit to Gosling while riding motorcycles.

Challengers has gone for the more fashion-focused approach with the stars of the film being dressed in Jonathan Anderson looks who served as the costume designer for the film. He is also the creative director of luxury fashion house LOEWE. Zendaya never misses an opportunity to be on theme at red carpets and in every press event or premiere for her new film, she has been wearing tennis themed outfits all immaculately styled by her long time stylist Law Roach. LOEWE is one of the fashion houses that the pair have worked with at previous events. Law Roach revealed on a recent podcast the reluctance of other big fashion labels to dress Zendaya when she started out in her career. She has never publicly worn anything from the ‘Big Five’ – Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Chanel, Dior and Valentino (apart from Valentino that Zendaya has had a contract with since 2020) in her 13 years of fame.

While both films have been making headlines for different reasons, they definitely lived up to the hype in my opinion and seeing them on the big screen were very different experiences.

The Fall Guy (2024)

I saw the Fall Guy with my family at the cinema, the week after it opened. There was still a large crowd but we did go on a Monday evening so it was probably smaller than the weekend. Most people were in couples or groups, presumably their immediate family. As the film was a 12A, it did have a family feeling with little bad language and the action fit the parody vibe of a film within a film.

I really liked the story as the comedy comes from the main film being made ‘Metal Storm’ being an amalgamation of many recognisable films such as Dune, Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones and so on. The film itself was actually based on a television show starring Lee Majors from the 1980s and celebrates the role of the stunt team who are often invisible and unsung heroes of the film industry.

Ryan Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, a stunt double at the top of his game since doubling up for renowned actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). While working on his latest film, he has been developing feelings for camera operator, Jody. A big stunt goes wrong and Colt retreats from the spotlight, believing himself to be at fault.

Cut to a few years later, Colt is working as a valet in Los Angeles and gets a call from demanding producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) who insists that Jody, now a director, is requesting Colt as a stunt coordinator on her film, Metal Storm. Colt flies to Sydney hoping to rekindle their summer fling but when he gets there he realises that he’s been set up and that Gail has flown him there to use his likeness as unreliable Tom Ryder has gone missing.

Colt starts working on the film and at Gail’s request to save Jody’s film, goes looking for Tom who has been hanging out with a dangerous crowd. From there, it’s neon suits, fake samurai swords, truck car chases and AI being used for evil.

The stunts in this film were amazing as expected but all things that I have not seen before on screen. There were a few twists and turns in terms of the plot but fitted with the parody vibe. There was some violence but done through comedy so it was enjoyable. I thought Ryan Gosling did a great job and he balanced the comedy, action and romance really well. I think his comedy skills have been undervalued and I hope he takes on more comedy roles in the future.

Overall, I would say this film was the definition of a blockbuster, made to be seen with friends and family at the cinema. I’m sure I would re-watch when it appears on streaming but it won’t have the same effect as seeing it on the big screen.

Challengers (2024)

I saw this film by myself in the middle of the day so the screen was much emptier with most people sitting at the back of the theatre. This gave a much more concentrated view and during the last scene, I barely noticed what was happening around me. I am not sure if a 15 rating was entirely necessary as for all of the erotic tension between the actors, there was no on-screen sex and little bad language. I don’t think it was quite a film for 12-year-olds though.

We follow the stories of Tashi Duncan, Art Donaldson (Faist) and Patrick Zweig (O’Connor) from their meeting at 18 years old, on the cusp of their tennis careers to their early 30s when Art and Patrick meet at a small tournament, a challenger before the US Open. This tense match frames the whole film by starting and then ending it.

Art and Patrick were best friends at 18, having been roommates since they were 12 at the Tennis Academy. Art is headed to Stanford University while Patrick plans to go straight to the pros. At a competition where they compete as doubles they see rising star, Tashi Duncan compete and both fall for her. When they meet later at the mixer and then in their hotel room it becomes clear that Tashi is interested in both of them. Patrick wins her phone number in a match against Art and dates Tashi who joins Art at Stanford. We see their lives at college along with Tashi’s career-ending injury. When Patrick isn’t there for her she relies on Art and when they catch up a few years later, start dating.

By the time, Art and Patrick meet at the challenger, Art and Tashi are married with a young daughter and Tashi has become Art’s coach. He is at the top of his game in tennis having won various Grand Slams but is ready to retire. Tashi enters him into a New Jersey Challenger competition match to raise his confidence after an easy defeat.

Patrick has fallen on hard times and is living out of his car and motels. He enters the challenger for the money. He and Art have not spoken in about 10 years. He sees Tashi around the hotel during the tournament in the lead up to the final match against Art.

The erotic tension comes from the chemistry that all three of them have together. Since their rendez-vous at 18, there was always a possibility between Art and Patrick with Tashi eventually dating both of them at different times. There are a lot of long lingering looks between the three, with Tashi often placing ultimatums or deals on the outcome of tennis matches between Art and Patrick. It is clear that Art and Tashi are not happy in their marriage and are using each other to become successful.

I think Luca Guadagnino’s films often have a simmering eroticism between certain characters often turning into sexual relationships. The camera work along with the sweat and power all created an electric tension between Art and Patrick in their final match with Tashi sitting in the crowd watching.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film and I think the cast and director managed to create a very suspenseful film using mostly looks and interactions between the three stars. Tennis was where they channeled their frustrations so it became almost another presence on screen with every serve and movement being carefully framed.

Both films were enjoyable in different ways and I think Challengers was great to see at the cinema but would perhaps work better on a smaller screen than the Fall Guy as the suspense all comes from the tension between the screen and the audience.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

My Letterboxd Four Favourites

Hello Readers,

I am sure many fellow film fanatics will be well aware of the platform Letterboxd but as a recent convert, I want to share what my four favourites are as users list in their profile.

I see many celebrities listing highbrow films by directors such as Fellini, Hitchcock and even more obscure but as someone who enjoys films more from the 21st century, my favourites are not as revered. I have no issues with people appreciating older cinema but even after studying film, I have never quite connected with the classics. I chose films that I would happily watch over and over without getting bored and ones with strong themes or just something that makes me laugh.

Here is a link to my Letterboxd profile if you would like to check out what I have been watching the past couple of months: https://letterboxd.com/robynhirstallen/

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Even before Letterboxd, this film has been in my top 3 since I saw it about 15 years ago. One of my favourite sub genres of films are natural disasters and this definitely fits into that category. While far-fetched and exaggerated, it does show the dangers of climate change and what may happen if we don’t take it seriously.

What I think draws me into films like this as well as films that are post-apocalyptic or alternate futures, is that the people left in the world have to work together to survive and you get to see humanity more united that it is or has been for a long time. It also creates a certain jeopardy that is not caused by one person or a group of people but rather by something that cannot be controlled and is unavoidable.

The Day After Tomorrow has three main plot lines: the first is about Sam and his friends who have flown to New York City for a debate competition. Jake Gyllenhaal (Sam) and Emmy Rossum (Laura) and Arjay Smith (Brian) star as the trio of high schoolers. After the floods, they are helped by another debater, J.D. (Austin Nichols) and shelter in the New York Public Library.

The second group are Sam’s father, Jack, played by Dennis Quaid along with his friends Jason and Frank. They were recently in Antarctica studying cold fronts and set off from Washington DC to rescue Sam and his friends while the weather turns into a new Ice Age.

The third group work in a laboratory in Scotland studying the weather and quickly come to realise that they aren’t going to be going anywhere any time soon. We get snippets from events around the world such as tornadoes in Los Angeles, snow in India, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and many other unbelievable weather events.

While the visual effects may not be as impressive and what we are used to seeing 20 years later, I think that they do hold up and the scenes when the floods invade Manhattan are quite realistic. The director, Roland Emmerich is known for films of this genre and scale such as 2012 and Independence Day so I think he got the tone right by including round the world events but also focusing on the relationships between the main characters.

Sam only joined the debate team to impress his crush, Laura while Brian and Laura are very academic. When J.D. joins their group, there is a bit of friction as Laura takes a shine to him but when she gets sick, everyone puts her health first. Jack and his colleagues have been trying to prove that climate change is real and that another Ice Age could happen but unfortunately the government don’t listen to him. His wife is a healthcare professional and we see her looking after sick children and waiting with them to be evacuated from Washington DC to the Southern States.

Overall, the film has jeopardy, adventure, action and drama along with characters you can relate to. One of the most heartbreaking scenes is when everyone sheltering in the library leaves and then you see them frozen to death outside after a cold front swept through.

Available on Disney+

Mamma Mia! (2008)

A smash hit musical and the subsequent films revived the music of ABBA in recent years. Since their success at Eurovision in 1974, the band’s popularity dwindled after their break up but Catherine Johnson put them back on everyone’s playlists.

I am a big fan of musicals, especially musical films as when watching at the cinema or at home you can always hear every lyric and see every dance routine without someone trying to record it in front of you. Mamma Mia! is the first musical film I remember watching around age 10 and even though the themes and the story were more for adults, I enjoyed the music, comedy and dance routines.

This film has been a family favourite since that first watch and has always been there when you need cheering up or are simply in the mood for sun and singing. The A list cast certainly adds to the fun with Meryl Streep making a star turn as Donna Sheridan along with Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, the trio make excellent Dynamos with their differences bringing them together. The three male leads, all Donna’s past lovers, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård bring the comedy and while there have been notes about their lack of singing ability, I think that all adds to the fun and lightheartedness of the film.

The main plot centres around Donna’s daughter Sophie, played by Amanda Seyfried wanting to invite her father to her wedding to fiance Sky (Dominic Cooper). She sends out invitations to her three suspects as discovered in her mother’s old diaries. When Donna finds the three having turned up at her hotel on a remote Greek island, she panics and hilarity ensues. It’s clear that Sam (Brosnan) was the true love of her life but circumstances kept him away.

In the original musical, Bill is Australian but he was changed to Swedish to honour the band ABBA and the actor playing him in the film. There were a few other changes with some songs being cut for time but with the same person writing the screenplay for the film, it was a faithful adaption.

My personal favourite songs are Dancing Queen where all the women of the town follow Donna and her sidekicks through the town in a big group number; Mamma Mia, Donna’s solo number and the grande finale Take a Chance on Me where Rosie (Walters) makes her play for Bill that ends in everyone dancing and water bursting through the floor tiles.

For me this film never gets old and is so joyful, I had to include it in my Four Favourites. It has always been hanging around my top 5 films and I included it in a post a while ago about my Desert Island Films. There was a sequel in 2018 which I enjoyed but nothing beats the first film.

If you enjoy musicals and/or the music of ABBA, you will definitely enjoy this film. I have introduced many people to it and no one has ever come away with negative thoughts even if they are not the biggest musical fan. There are elements to enjoy such as the comedy, the summer island paradise and heartwarming story.

Available on Amazon Prime

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

This film has a lot of themes going on that would make it a great study in a film lecture or something similar and is quite dark but when I watched this for the first time at a similar age to Olive (Abigail Breslin), these were not the things that stayed with me. I wouldn’t say this film has made it to my top 5 until I joined Letterboxd but after a re-watch last year and truly appreciating the film with adult eyes, I couldn’t help but include it.

The film centres around the Hoover family and their various problems. Teenager Dwayne (Paul Dano) has committed to a vow of silence until he achieves his dream of becoming a fighter pilot. Olive’s father, Richard (Greg Kinnear) is trying to switch careers into becoming a life coach and influential speaker and is currently negotiating a contract to jump start his career. His father, Edwin (Alan Arkin) has a drug problem and has come to live with the family. He also starts coaching Olive in beauty pageanting after she entered and won a local contest.

A family road trip ensues for Olive to participate in the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant in Redondo Beach, California. The family go in their iconic yellow Volkswagen camper van that has many problems along the way. Also on the trip are Sheryl (Toni Collette) who is reluctant to let her daughter, Olive compete and Sheryl’s brother, Frank (Steve Carell) who is staying with the family after losing his professor position and attempting suicide due to a affair with a male student ending badly.

While many of the Hoover family’s problems seem quite dark, it is a light-hearted film with emotional moments. For example, the scene where they accidentally leave Olive at the gas station and the van cannot stop so she has to run alongside it and hop in is a memorable one.

The cast and the script really make this film into something outstanding and one that is talked about still almost 15 years later. The family deal with things together and even events or problems that could make them give up, help to bond them closer together.

The final scenes where Olive is performing in the pageant are very funny and the juxtaposition of all the other competitors being over-sexualised compared with the shock at Olive’s inappropriate dance shows how society picks and chooses what to be offended by.

It is hard to find another film that evokes that same emotions but one with more positive situations is The Way Way Back from 2013 which also stars Toni Collette and Steve Carell.

Overall I think this film is a light hearted drama with comedic moments featuring an elite cast and a great script. Would recommend to slightly older viewers to truly understand the themes.

Available on Disney+

This is Where I Leave You (2014)

Another comedy drama but this one has more laugh out loud moments. Another great cast with Jane Fonda as the matriarch of the Altman family. She brings her four grown up children back to their childhood home to sit shiva after their father’s death even though he was an atheist. Shiva is a Jewish tradition of a seven day mourning period where the first degree relatives welcome other mourners and share in their grief.

This situation forces the family back together each bringing their own problems. Our protagonist Judd (Jason Bateman) starts the film by finding his wife, Quinn (Abigail Spencer) in bed with her secret lover (Dax Shepard). He decides to divorce her but does not tell the family. Wendy (Tina Fey) has two young kids with her husband who is not very interested in being present with his family and finds any excuse to call work. She also experiences what could have been by reconnecting with Horry, a neighbour whom she dated in high school until he suffered a brain injury.

Paul (Corey Stoll) and his wife, Annie (Kathryn Hahn) are struggling to conceive and it is also revealed that Annie used to be Judd’s girlfriend when they were younger. Last is the baby of the family, Phillip (Adam Driver) who turns up to the house with his girlfriend who was his therapist and is quite a bit older than him.

Trapped together, the family start to unravel with many secrets coming forward. Judd finds out that his ex-wife Quinn is pregnant with no idea if he is the father. Annie tries seducing Judd after wondering if her husband is the issue with their fertility issues and Phillip’s girlfriend leaves him after he flirts with younger women.

What drew me to this film is the feeling of connection and family. While there are many hilarious moments, there are also lovely moments such as Wendy being comforted by her mother and Judd finding love again with Penny (Rose Byrne). One of the funniest moments is when the brothers sneak out of temple to smoke a joint that was found in their late father’s jacket.

The actors in the film are all known for comedy, an early role for Adam Driver who really keeps up with the other actors and I think again the script really helps. Other actors featured are Timothy Olyphant, Connie Britton and Ben Schwartz.

I have re-watched this film a few times but not for a while but I think the Four Favourites is about films you could come across playing on TV and happily sit there and watch. They are not necessarily films I revisit every year but I would always recommend them to people and they evoke feelings of comfort or humour when re-watching.

Not available for free but available to buy/rent on most streaming platforms

So these are my current Four Favourites on Letterboxd and while I am happy with my choices, they are not set in stone so if I do swap any then an updated version of this post could be on the cards.

Happy Watching,

Robyn