Tag: movie

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

My Culture Fix – Updated for 2024

My favourite author or book

Hard to pick just one but favourite authors are Alice Oseman, Rick Riordan and John Green. Would read anything that they write. My favourite new book is Wolfsong by TJ Klune and my favourite older book is Love Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur.

The book I’m reading
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston.

The book I wish I had written
Solitaire by Alice Oseman.

The book I couldn’t finish
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

The book I’m ashamed I haven’t read
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

My favourite film
The Day After Tomorrow.


My favourite play
Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer.

The box set I’m hooked on
Last one was Manifest but currently waiting for the next one.

My favourite TV series
Heartstopper, Outnumbered or Doctor Who.

My favourite piece of music
The Chain by Fleetwood Mac.

The last film that made me cry
We Live in Time starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield.


The lyric I’d wish I’d written
Made it out alive, but I think I lost it
Said that I was fine, said it from the coffin
Remember how I died when you started walking?
That’s my life, that’s my life
I’ll put up a fight, taking out my earrings
Don’t you know the vibe? Don’t you know the feeling?
You should spend the night, catch me on your ceiling
That’s your prize, that’s your prize

– Gracie Abrams ‘That’s So True’

The instrument I play
Piano and previously violin.

The instrument I wish I’d learnt
Guitar.

If I could own one painting
Yellow Chair by Vincent Van Gogh.


The place I feel happiest
On holiday either sun or snow.

The movie I’m looking forward to
Avengers: Doomsday.

I wasted an evening watching…
Wolfs with George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

The film I walked out on
Never happened as an adult but there are a few horrors I haven’t enjoyed.

My guiltiest cultural pleasure
Élite – Spanish drama that could rival Riverdale.

Overrated
It Ends with Us (film and book).

Underrated
My Lady Jane on Amazon Prime. First series was amazing but it didn’t get a second.

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