Category: Weekly Recommendation

Gladiator and Gladiator II Review – How do the two compare?

Hi Readers,

Sequels are very popular in the cinemas at the moment with many franchises rebooting and continuing to provide content for fans of the originals or just wanting to make more money on something they know works. Some sequels have years between them and a new generation takes the reins as the star of the film. This is certainly true for Gladiator II. It takes place 16 years after the original events of Gladiator (2000) which has been even longer in reality. We have a new hero of the film but the story fits into the universe of the original even including a few characters from the first film.

I saw the first Gladiator film at home about a week before I saw the sequel at the cinema and even though Gladiator is a classic, I preferred the story of the second film. In the 2020s, films shown on the big screen have more spectacle and the plot has probably been developed more than older films. Standards have changed and audiences, myself included have higher expectations. Films have to compete with the visual spectacles from superhero films to the Fast and Furious Saga and the quality of stories found in indie films.

Gladiator (2000) and Gladiator II (2024)


To start from the beginning, the second Gladiator film has a more dramatic opening sequence with the Roman Army invading the homeland of our hero, Mano. We see that his wife is also a soldier who fights using a bow and arrow while Paul Mescal’s character is trained in hand to hand combat and strategy. Gladiator starts with a battle but it has a long build up and in the forest, it doesn’t feel as exciting or cinematic as the city barriers in Gladiator II. From a modern perspective, the battle in the first Gladiator film has a very masculine, alpha male energy with a woman not being seen until afterwards but we get to see female fighters and also people of colour in Gladiator II. Our hero in the second film participates in the battle but after seeing his wife fall to her death becomes distracted and is knocked out until the battle is over.

Maximus played by Russell Crowe in the first Gladiator keeps his composure and is undefeated in the first battle, showing us his masculinity but audiences particularly in the Generation Z and Millennial age brackets will have encountered ideals of beta males and that men do not have to be alpha to be real men. This could of course have just been a plot device to keep him alive for the rest of the film but I chose to interpret it this way.

The stories follow similar beats, our hero is shipped to a small fighting arena where he proves his worth and is sent to the Colosseum in Rome for the Emperor’s viewing pleasure. Instead of being a disgraced general, Mano is a simple man who has been raised in combat in his African home. He doesn’t seem to know his family as he was found as a child but we know he has a past. Both heroes in the film lose their wives at the beginning which results in a need for revenge inside them. Maximus knows the Emperor personally and his family were targeted as a warning to him but Mano’s wife was killed as part of a larger battle by the General and Mano seeks revenge on him.

When Mano reaches Rome, we see that there are now twin emperors who are even more unhinged than Commodus from the first film. We also learn that Lucilla, the sister of Commodus is still alive and in the inner circle. She is now married to General Acacius and has managed to protect herself. Her son is also absent. Mano has the skills in the arena like Maximus but the villains of the film are not as obvious as in the first Gladiator.

At first, Macrinus who runs the out-of-town arena is on the side of the Gladiators and the enemy is General Acacius and the Emperors. This evolves when we learn of Lucilla and the senate’s plot to overthrow the Emperors and bring power back to the people of Rome. We think that Macrinus is part of this plot but it turns out he has a plot of his own to eliminate General Acacius and turn the Emperors on each other. He backs Emperor Caracalla who has become mentally unstable and knows he can control the armies through him.

The visual effects and arena battles are more intense in the second Gladiator film and I thought that they were more interesting. There were opportunities to show Mano’s skills not just in fighting but in strategy. This is similar to how Maximus defeated his opponents. Obviously, the film has violence but I liked the fact that they were saying that violence is not always the answer and brains can outsmart brawn.

In the fight with the monkeys, Mano uses the monkey’s strength against itself, getting it to bite down on its own arm. Other fighters in the arena did not think of this strategy and tried to defeat them with brute force. Against the rhino, Mano knew that he could not defeat an animal of that size so used physics and momentum to get the rider off the rhino and challenge him to hand to hand combat. In the re-creation of the battle at sea, Mano takes charge and again uses physics and the boat’s momentum to win against the other side. It is true that the Romans used to fill the Colosseum with water but I am not sure if sharks were used.

The final fight gets personal when Macrinus takes over having killed General Acacius and knowing that Mano is the son of Lucilla, uses her as bait for him. He tries to protect her but she is soon killed by archers and Mano enacts their plan to lead the gladiators out of the arena and into the streets of Rome. They arranged for Acacius’ troops to come to Rome and Macrinus responds with his own troops.

The second film ends in a similar way to the first with a one-on-one fight between Lucius (Mano) and Macrinus. He manages to persuade the two armies not to spill blood for the sake of it. Both Emperors have been killed along with members of the Senate and Lucius claims his position as the only living heir left, vowing to make Rome for the people instead of the rich.

I enjoyed the modern touches to the second film and the broader diversity of the cast. We see women not just as pawns but as warriors and strategists. Mindless violence is not the answer with the fights in the Colosseum being less about slaughtering and more about entertainment. Even though Lucius is from the royal line, he feels like more of a commoner than Maximus having grown up that way. We saw a man of colour in power which was not shown in the first film. There was also some same sex kiss scenes that were cut but would have shown even more diversity.

The fact that both films were directed by the same man shows that attitudes can evolve over time and directors will make the film that audiences want to see and not just repeat the same story.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

Wicked: Long Awaited Adaptation makes Magical Silver Screen Debut

Hi Readers,

Anyone who is into musical theatre will have heard of or even seen the musical of Wicked on the stage either on the West End where it currently plays at the Apollo Victoria Theatre or its runs on Broadway and regional theatres around the world.

It tells an untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West when she was just Elphaba and Galinda who becomes the Good Witch of the North. We see the two start as enemies and slowly become friends at Shiz University, long before Dorothy and Toto landed in Oz. The novel that the musical was based on was published by Gregory Maguire in 1995 and based on the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz books by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 film.

The film adaptation of Wicked has been in the works since 2012 and was finally released by Universal in November this year. Actors Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have made headlines for their stunning performances, live vocals and sweet friendship. They have been a part of a few viral moments in the press such as Ariana holding onto Cynthia’s nail and a reporter asking them about ‘holding space for Defying Gravity’, the song at the end of the film.

The film has just received 4 Golden Globe nominations including for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in their roles.

Wicked (2024)

As a musical fan myself, I was very excited to finally see Wicked brought to life on screen. I went to see the film twice with different people as I felt a need to watch it again and take in the spectacle. The production design, visual effects, costumes, props, acting and singing were all outstanding and really put other films to shame with the quality and imagination that went into the creation.

I particularly loved the inclusion of visual effects in the promo of the film with the Visual Effects Supervisor, Pablo Helman and other department members being included in interviews as well as blue screens being visible in promo released for the film. There was a lot of practical and special effects which are to be commended. As someone who has worked on visual effects it was great to see it mentioned when many other films try to hide their use of CGI or VFX.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were perfectly cast for their roles and embodied Elphaba and Galinda with all their mannerisms and tone. Galinda had a great amount of snark and humour as well as being snooty and well-liked. Elphaba was quiet but stood up for the animals and her sister. She takes pride in her talents but feels Galinda and Fiyero are over the top. I love that Elphaba comes from the initials of the author: LFB ( El-ph-buh).

There were so many references to the Wizard of Oz film such as Galinda giving Elphaba her iconic black witch’s hat and cloak. Nessarose wears special silver shoes. The iconic ruby red slippers that Dorothy wears are silver in the original books and Galinda has some red slippers in her closet. When in the Emerald City with the Wizard, Galinda (now Glinda) suggests the Brick Road should be yellow as it is in the Wizard of Oz. We see Glinda visit the Munchkins at the beginning which is actually after the events of the Wizard of Oz film when the Witch has melted.

The songs were a highlight of the film and both Ariana and Cynthia sang live. All of the songs were really amazing with elaborate dance routines and montages and a host of background artists. My favourite songs include: What is This Feeling? where Galinda and Elphaba sing about their loathing for each other after being put in the same room at Shiz; The Wizard and I: Elphaba’s big solo number where she hopes that her life will turn around when meeting the Wizard and of course the finale number, Defying Gravity where Elphaba sings about becoming her true self and not letting anything hold her back anymore featuring Glinda trying to persuade her to stay and prove her innocence.

I am excited to hear the songs in Wicked: Part Two. I have seen the full play on the West End but I don’t remember the songs or much of the story. Hopefully, it will be as magical as the first film.

The ensemble cast all did a great job rounding out the film and I am glad to see people from musical theatre backgrounds get a chance such as Ethan Slater and having wheelchair users play Nessarose both as a child and as the older version was a win for disabled actors. Nessarose becomes the Wicked Witch of the East so I am interested to see how she turns ‘wicked’ as her character is sweet and caring in the first film.

Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero is a character I look forward to seeing more of in the sequel. He has strong charisma and in the film manages to have chemistry with basically every character regardless of gender which was great to see even in a PG as being not just heterosexual shouldn’t be something relegated to more adult themed films.

Overall, I loved the film of Wicked and seeing it on the big screen was a great way to watch it. Next year, hopefully they will be showing double bills with the sequel as it would be great to watch them back to back especially as they were shot in succession. Until then, I will be listening to the soundtrack.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

New Perspectives: Blitz – one boy’s journey to be reunited with his family during WWII

Hello Readers,

Steve McQueen’s war drama featuring the quest of nine-year-old George as he escapes from being evacuated and finds his way home to his mother and grandfather. While the story is not true, it contains a lot of stories that have been forgotten including the struggles of the Black community in London at the time as well as how those in poorer areas coped with the Blitz. As mentioned in many interviews, McQueen saw a photo of a young Black boy carrying his suitcase in London during World War II and crafted George’s story around it.

I worked briefly on this project as a previs coordinator on a shot panning over London after a heavy night of bombing. Seeing the final shot in the film was interesting as it looked different to what I had remembered and dressed up with the visual effects. Apart from this shot, I had not much idea of the plot of the film so I don’t feel my involvement gave me any spoilers or clues to the ending.

Warning spoilers ahead!

Blitz (2024) Directed by Steve McQueen

I have been anticipating this film for over a year since working on it and I was pleased that it was available on Apple TV+ so that I could watch it at home. I didn’t watch it at the cinema but I was able to see it on my home projector and this definitely added to the drama of the film.

I think the star of the film really was Elliott Heffernan who plays George as he carried a lot of the emotion and story line. The other main characters featured are Rita, George’s mother played by Saoirse Ronan, Jack, their neighbour and Air Raid warden (Harris Dickinson) and Gerald, Rita’s father played by Paul Weller. The other characters in the film flow in and out as Rita and George encounter new people.

George at the beginning of the film is quite protected and naive to the struggles of other Black people being raised in his White family and in a nice area of London – Stepney Green. He gets the odd comment but is sheltered from most of it by his mother.

When he finds out that he is being evacuated, he tries to resist as he already feels like an outsider but at least Stepney Green is the devil he knows. Going to the countryside with other children feels like the end of the world for him and he knows he will not fit in or be bullied especially as it seems he struggles to make friends.

Almost as soon as he has boarded the train, George forms a plan to escape and find his way home. Along the way he meets a few different characters but the first boys he meets on the cargo train understand his reasons as they too are escaping back to London. He generously shares his sandwich in an attempt to be friendly but after the shock death of the oldest brother, he does not hang around to be caught.

His next encounter is with a friendly Black Air Raid Warden who teaches George more about being Black and vows to help him get back to Stepney Green. Ife is from Nigeria and teaches George about his culture. He unfortunately meets his untimely demise so George goes it alone and is picked up by a criminal gang who recruit him for their looting.

Meanwhile, we see Rita sing at her factory on the BBC radio and learn of George’s disappearance. She recruits Jack to help her and also takes him to a shelter she volunteers at where people don’t have much. The underground stations are not being opened to the public until it is absolutely necessary and we see many people taking refuge there as shelters fill up quickly.

George almost gets caught by the police on one jewellery shop raid but a bombed ballroom gives him the best escape route while his captors are being arrested. He finds his way to London Bridge underground during a bombing but when the tunnels are flooded, he is swept up in the flood but due to his small stature manages to squeeze through the gates and get help. He wakes up in the home of a seemingly nice woman who offers to take him to the police station but he sneaks out of the bedroom and finally returns home to discover his house bombed and his grandfather dead in his bed but the cat and his mother have survived.

I thought the film was well done and while some events were embellished, they created a well thought out story of George’s quest to find his mother and along the way discover his heritage. In flashbacks we see Rita and Marcus, George’s father and the terrible treatment they faced as an interracial couple. After being attacked, Marcus is arrested and deported before George’s birth so he has not grown up having a father figure or Black role model in his life.

The young actor playing George did a great job at leading the film and you could easily empathise with him and his need to be back with the only family he’s ever known. It seems strange in this day and age that it took him many days to get back home when back in London but people did not always travel outside of their areas and even when receiving directions for a way home on the bus, he couldn’t remember them. He had probably never been on the Tube, at least not without his mother so did not know a way on the underground or have the money for it.

Saoirse Ronan’s London accent was very good and I felt more immersed in the film as most of the characters had East End or London accents. There were a lot of little details that were authentic to the time such as Rita and her friends drawing stocking lines on the back of their legs with eye liner as there was a shortage of stockings at the time. I loved all the old signs and buses especially when George is going through Central London or in the tube stations.

To the modern eye, it seems cruel to send your children away to another city/part of the country but the government was making it mandatory and it did save the lives of many children as mostly cities such as London were bombed heavily. Members of my own family were evacuated at the same time as the film is set even though they did not live in London. One did go back home and survived although it was not as long a journey as George had.

I think this time period is a really interesting one to show on film as it is well documented with photos and film but there are few people still alive today who truly remember what society was like. It is certainly the oldest global event in living memory. Previous war films have not really focused on the Black communities in London during the Blitz so it was interesting to have a film from the point of view of a young boy who has been raised in a White community.

Overall, I thought that the film was good, emotional and dramatic. It exceeded my expectations from when I worked on it about 18 months ago and it gave us a war story that has not been repeated ad infinitum. I give the film 4.5/5.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

Paddington in Peru! Is the magic still alive for the bear’s third outing?

Hello Readers,

One of Britain’s most popular literary characters turned screen star is, of course, marmalade-loving Paddington Bear. He has had tea with the Queen, defeated the likes of Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant and is loved by children and adults everywhere. The Brown family along with Paddington have returned in a new film, Paddington in Peru where we see the wee bear discover where he comes from and the meaning of family.

It has been over seven years since Paddington 2 and while most of the cast have returned, we have a new actress playing Mrs Brown, Emily Mortimer. The film did not address the change and any young children who maybe have not seen the previous films will be unlikely to notice. I thought Emily brought a certain gravitas to the role and made it her own.

Paddington gets a worrying letter about his beloved Aunt Lucy and the family decide they need a holiday to Peru to see how Aunt Lucy is getting on at the Retired Home for Bears and whatever could be troubling her. The Brown children are now settled in their identities approaching adulthood and maybe have forgotten the magic of being young. Mr and Mrs Brown feel nostalgic for the children’s childhood and wish to have one last family memory before Judy goes off to university.

Paddington in Peru (2024)

The film starts with a bemusing scene of Paddington attempting to take a photo for his British passport in a booth. Anyone who has had to do this for a baby or small child will know the difficulties but Paddington struggles more than most finally getting a unique photo. We see a brief glimpse of the London crowd with Paddington visiting Mr Gruber and the neighbours and friends gifting Paddington a special umbrella.

The film is mostly set in Peru and while filmed in London, the credits show that it was also filmed in Colombia and Peru so it’s great to see actual locations being used and not just green screens. The Browns along with Mrs Bird encounter the Reverend Mother at the Retired Home for Bears who wrote Paddington with her concerns about Aunt Lucy. She appears to be a harmless nun but as Mrs Bird comes to find out, there is more to her than meets the eye.

We also meet Hunter Cabot, handsome boat captain and his daughter, Gina who let the Browns use their riverboat to search along the Amazon for Aunt Lucy. Paddington found a treasure map and is sure that Aunt Lucy went looking for El Dorado, the famous lost city of gold. What the Browns don’t know is that Hunter is from a long line of gold hunters and this has caused many rifts for his ancestors including in his own relationship with Gina.

After a capsizing and Paddington getting separated from the Browns, he looks for the entrance to El Dorado along with Hunter. Mrs Bird sniffs around at the retirement home and finds a mysterious red wire.

I really enjoyed the film and while I think it is maybe the weakest of the three films, it is by no means poor. There is still the magic of Paddington Bear and his encounters with strangers where he always thinks the best of them. Of course, being a children’s film, the threats to Paddington are mild but he does often end up in a tricky situation.

It was also nice to see more of Paddington’s heritage and history mentioned as apart from Aunt Lucy and his childhood in Peru, we don’t know much about Paddington in his natural habitat and seeing him in his own land confirms that some of his misunderstandings in London are not due to cultural differences but rather his cumbersome nature.

The Paddington films for me have always been like a warm hug showing the best of British values and demonstrating that everyone deserves a family. I think Ben Whishaw does a great voice for Paddington that I do not recognise as his normal voice so with the magic of CGI and VFX, you almost believe Paddington to be his own person.

I don’t think that there were any negatives to the film although I will say I think if the film was a 12 that Gina and Jonathan would have gotten together and it could have added to the drama but as it is for kids, there was more focus on Paddington.

Overall, I loved the film and thought it was the perfect goodbye to the film franchise as I don’t see the need for a further film. Paddington has such a cultural footprint with all of the books and the television animation and even exhibits and stores of his own that the magic will never truly fade. I give it 5/5.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

Disclaimer: Cuarón’s foray into the TV world and why you should watch it

Hello Readers,

I first heard about the show Disclaimer when I heard that it was going to be shown at the Venice Film Festival. This is not common practice for a TV show as far as I have heard but then again not many television shows are written, produced, directed and edited by award winning director, Alfonso Cuarón.

His films in the past have covered a range of topics and genres: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – family friendly teen fantasy; Children of Men – dystopian drama; Gravity – sci-fi one-woman adventure; Great Expectations – R-rated rom-com and Roma – a love letter to his home country of Mexico.

Disclaimer adds another string to his bow as a twisty psychological thriller told over seven episodes in several periods of time. The basic story is that a woman meets a young man on holiday, something transpires between them and he dies saving her young son from the sea. 20 years on, the young man’s father is seeking revenge for the death of his son and the subsequent death of his marriage and wife. He discovers a novel that his late wife wrote about their son and his death and uses this to destroy award-winning documentarian who he believes caused his son’s death.

Disclaimer (2024)

This show has a fairly simple premise once you work out who each character is but the feelings and pain that the characters carry and act on drives the plot forward and makes it a gripping thriller. The cast selected for the roles were very fitting and played their parts well. Before I had even finished watching the show, I knew I wanted to write a review about it as I wanted to dissect just what made it so intense.

One of the main things that made Disclaimer so powerful was the camera work. Alfonso Cuarón is known for his interesting and dynamic shots and these were certainly used to full effect in Disclaimer. Getting up close and personal to the characters showed us their emotions and even changed the feelings of a scene. There were many establishing shots that were not standard or boring but just reminded you in which location or time period you were.

What really came through for me was the emotions of the characters and how their feelings at root, caused the story. Nancy (Lesley Manville) felt so strongly about her son Jonathan’s death that she was driven to write the book to make sense of his early passing. With the photographs retrieved from his film camera, she pieced together what had happened or what she thought had happened.

Catherine Ravenscroft (Cate Blanchett) is shown as a career-first family-second woman but her story goes deeper than this. She has been unable to form a strong bond with her son, Nicholas who is pushed out of the nest to find a job and some independence. His father, Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen) believes that this is not right for Nick (Kodi Smit-McPhee) but goes along with her. He believes in their special father-son bond over football but Nick really doesn’t feel very loved by either of them.

It’s apparent that Nick does not remember anything of his near-death experience in the ocean when he was four years old but something has stuck around as he carries a trauma that is not explained by anything else as he is in a privileged position. Catherine also holds this experience close to her chest but when Nancy’s book comes to light, she has to start facing her past.

Stephen Brigstocke (Kevin Kline) plays a character that you love to dislike but again may just be misunderstood. His quest of terror is done out of his anger at himself for his son’s death and the staleness that existed between himself and Nancy for the next 10 years until her death. He was a normal man with a family and a good job as a teacher at a private school but having his son ripped away from him caused his life to stand still.

I thought Louis Partridge who plays Jonathan was great in the role, especially in the last episode. We see his quiet and unassuming nature when he meets Catherine and Nick in Italy, how we would expect a 19 year old to be but again, his story has many deeper truths.

A large part of the story shows the systematic destruction of Catherine’s career and home life by Stephen who feels a need to make the world aware of how Catherine let his son drown. We see Catherine’s distress and emotions come out but we don’t see an alternative point of view for most of the show. The thrilling nature comes from not knowing what Stephen or other characters will do next to further discredit Catherine or if her retaliation will go a step too far.

This is certainly a show for older viewers with some explicit sex scenes. They were crucial to the plot but I think were also done for shock factor and as many people have said, sex sells. In my opinion, there was nothing too uncomfortable or prolonged that we haven’t seen before but I would say it’s not suitable for younger teenagers.

I don’t want to go too much into the story as a whole but I will say I was hooked until the end and watched most episodes on the day they were released. Overall, I give the show 4/5.

All episodes are now streaming on Apple TV+

Happy Watching,

Robyn

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

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

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

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