Archive for the ‘Movies’ Category

18 Apr

Five Films That Defined My Childhood

Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Changing gears towards a movie theme, we have Lemuriacalling giving us a very personal article. If you like what you see, you can find his tireless videogame writing work over at respawn.ninja, under the name Toby Berger.

—Written by Lemuriacalling—

—Edited/formatted by Vagrantesque—

I’ll admit this straight away – growing up in the 90’s pretty much rocked. From Rugrats, to the original Pokemon TV series, to Cheese TV – I couldn’t even fathom how I’d have turned out if I was born in this day and age. And while I was swiftly digesting my favorite cartoons of a morning before school would begin, films were still the beast of the media world. Before video games became the massive phenomenon we’re so used to now and cinematic-style TV was still finding its feet, films were the creme-de-la-creme of spectacle. Titanic, E.T., Jurassic Park, Star Wars… all absolutely fantastic in their own way. Going out to the cinema was something families would be genuinely excited to do back then. There was no internet to pirate movies from, CDs were only just becoming a thing and most of all, it was a solid way to bond with your family, friends, and dare I say it – a date or two.

This may not be an accurate depiction of a young Toby.

 

When I started really engaging in film, there was a period of my life that just revolved around watching every movie possible. I absolutely loved them. They were mildly short bursts of something (mostly) original and unique, and because I was a youngster I’d come out of a superhero movie thinking I had powers, I’d come out of a Lord of The Rings movie thinking I’ve just witnessed a battle for the ages, but most importantly, I’d regularly come out of a Saw movie with a massive grin on my face. I wasn’t entirely normal when it came to taking in films, and when I turned around eight or nine I developed a real passion for horror movies. I absolutely adored these monstrosities of filmmaking and enjoyed the gore, the scares, and the monsters. This top five list didn’t take me that long to conjure up because I have such fond memories of being scared out of my brains during a handful of the films I’m about to mention, but I thought it’d be an interesting read none the less. The films are in no particular order, as they all played a significant part in defining my childhood.

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6 Mar

Ahead: 2015

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists, Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

OK, Oscars are done, our stupid movie release schedule overlap with the USA should be catching up, and the dry months of videogame releases are coming to a close. Let’s get hyped.

Well, here we are at the real beginning of a new commercial year of entertainment media, and it is astonishingly clear in terms of confirmed release dates or windows, particularly in light of the murky waters of the last two uncertain years. If I see one theme running through the suite of upcoming movies and videogames, it’s “Anything 2014 can do, 2015 can do bigger”. Yes, there are some real giants waiting to be awoken in 2015, most of which have not reached saturation point with audiences just yet. And they look positively mouth-watering. The question remains, however – will bigger equate to better in 2015? Here are my top ten most anticipated movies and games for this year.

NOTE: Because I’ve already devoted an entire post to Nintendo’s 2015 lineup, I’m going to disqualify them from my games list. Because, well, that wouldn’t be fair.

MOVIES

10. Chappie


Might as well start with a movie that’s actually really close to coming out in cinemas – next week, in fact. I certainly wasn’t alone in enjoying Neill Blomkamp’s Best Picture-nominated science fiction racism metaphor District 9, and I was more positive on his wealth gap themed follow-up Elysium than most people. But I do have to admit that the movies had a very similar feel, and from the looks of things Chappie is very much cut from the same cloth. It will need to do something pretty cool to stand out, and I look forward to finding out if it does.

9. Ant-Man


As the only superhero movie of 2015 that isn’t a sequel or reboot, Marvel’s Ant-Man could go one of two ways – it could expand Marvel’s ever-expanding Cinematic Universe with yet another breakout character, or it could flop and finally give the anti-superhero subsection of film critics some real ammunition. Losing a director as unique as Edgar Wright must not have been easy for the production, and it has everything to prove. Yet Marvel Studios has yet to really let fans down, and so Ant-Man well and truly has my attention.

8. The Good Dinosaur


After three consecutive years of huge (and really good) Boxing Day releases, Disney Animation Studios is taking a well deserved year off in 2015 to let Pixar take the 3D animation spotlight, with a pair of films to boot. The Good Dinosaur is half of said pair, and it seems to be taking an unorthodox approach to the well-worn prehistoric setting of animated family movies, asking the question of how things might have gone had dinosaurs lived alongside early humans with sufficiently less intelligence than themselves. It’s the less interesting of the two 2015 Pixar outings for me, but I’m ready to be optimistic about Pixar again, so bring it on.

7. Tomorrowland


Speaking of Disney, George Clooney’s Tomorrowland is also coming this year. Intentionally shrouded in an advertising campaign that seems to be giving nothing away, Tomorrowland is refreshingly mysterious for a Disney movie at the time of writing – scratch that – it’s refreshingly mysterious for any big movie in today’s day and age at the time of writing, and it seems poised to deliver a wondrous fantasy experience. I just hope that was the last of the trailers.

6. Jurassic World


Though I wouldn’t call myself the world’s biggest Jurassic Park fanatic, I definitely enjoyed the movies as a kid, and fourth film in the series Jurassic World is generating so much hype at the moment that it is taking on “event movie” status, and therefore attracting me like a moth to a flame. It hits right around the middle of the year and seems to be filled with set piece moments ripe for discussion. Oh, and Chris Pratt. count me in.

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28 Feb

My Take on the Big Films of the 2015 Oscars

Posted by vagrantesque in Lists, Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

So now I’m caught up on this year’s Oscars, but rather than break down what I thought of every award like I’ve done in the past I’m going to quickly run down my thoughts on the handful of Oscar-nominated films I’ve actually seen, because I just need to put something to the keyboard before I can move on.

Serious movies, yay!

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Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Won: Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki), Best Original Screenplay, Best Directing (Alejandro G. Inarittu), Best Picture
Nominated For: Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Actor (Michael Keaton), Best Supporting Actor (Edward Norton), Best Supporting Actress (Emma Stone)

I wouldn’t quite give my personal Best Picture nod to Birdman, but the sheer number of ways in which it tosses up a unique gimmick and nails it means I can hardly begrudge it the adulation it receives. The script is a tad pretentious, to be sure, but the movie does a lot of things very well, and any other winner in the Best Cinematography category would have been a tragedy. Emmanuel Lubezki, whose exemplary work in Gravity certainly did not go unnoticed, makes the film feel like it’s all one continuous take, and he does it extraordinarily well. I feel like the movie should have won some kind of audio award for its amazing improvised drumming soundtrack, and Edward Norton should count himself unlucky that he was in such a strong field for Supporting Actor.
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The Imitation Game

Won: Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated For: Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat), Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Best Supporting Actress (Keira Knightley), Best Directing (Morten Tyldum), Best Picture

A fascinating real life set-up provides the stage for everyone’s favourite Hollywood name to dominate the screen as genius social outcast Alan Turing, the man chiefly responsible for creating a machine capable of decoding the encrypted radio messages sent by the Nazis every day of the Second World War. The Imitation Game balances an exploration of the troubled man beneath the arrogant, awkward exterior of Turing and the grave task he and his team have to complete, all the while avoiding the temptation to run for too long. The script, however, is the real star, thoroughly deserving of its Oscar. From its hilarious opening interview to its heartfelt final conversation, the film is tight, concise and entertaining. I’m not sure why Knightley was nominated, though. She doesn’t get a whole lot to do.
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Whiplash

Won: Best Supporting Actor (J.K. Simmons), Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing
Nominated For: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture

I only just watched the much-hyped Whiplash today, and it is indeed very, very good. J.K. Simmons’ monstrous turn as the short-tempered Draconian jazz teacher who torments a young drumming prodigy is well-deserving of his Oscar win, and indeed all the other awards he picked up for the role as well. Miles Teller, as said prodigy Andrew Neiman, gives one hell of an intense performance too, and his drumming, combined with some incredible award-winning editing by Tom Cross, lights the film on fire in the breathtaking final 15 minutes. Palpable tension permeates Whiplash, and its narrative is as unpredictable as Simmons’ venemous character. Great stuff.
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Interstellar

Won: Best Visual Effects
Nominated For: Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer)

This one is the least fresh in my mind, as I saw it when it was still in cinemas last year. To me Interstellar was disappointing enough to sneak onto the tail end of my Top 10 Disappointments list of 2014, not because it’s a bad film (it isn’t), or even a boring one (it isn’t), but because its uneven tone and frequently distracted shifts of focus make it seem a little out of place alongside Christopher Nolan’s excellent suite of individual films in the past, chief among them Memento, the Prestige and Inception. It does have strong visual effects, but I believe Rise of the Planet of the Apes was the more deserving nominee from that category.
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The Grand Budapest Hotel

Won: Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat), Best Production Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Costume Design
Nominated For: Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, Best Directing (Wes Anderson), Best Picture

This charming movie was released a very long time ago in Oscar terms, which renders its incredible nine nominations a little surprising, though nonetheless deserved. I only saw it last week, so the film is still vivid in my memory, and it is positively delightful. It would actually be my pick for Best Picture out of the Academy nominees, with Whiplash a close second. Its near-complete sweep of the major visual awards is hardly surprising, as its endlessly creative aesthetic is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Quirky, star-studded, memorably acted (particularly in the cases of Ralph Fiennes, Jeff Goldblum and the shape-shifting Tilda Swinton) as well as mercifully brief, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a Wes Anderson movie through-and-through, and you should definitely watch it.
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Big Hero 6

Won: Best Animated Feature Film

I just want to say that while I think How to Train Your Dragon 2 deserved this award more (It was my second favourite movie of last year, after all), I am still very happy about this. That’s all.

 

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Notable Nominees/Winners I Haven’t Seen at Time of Writing

The Theory of Everything

American Sniper

Boyhood

Still Alice

Selma

Foxcatcher

13 Feb

Movie Review: Kingsman – The Secret Service

Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Back into the swing of things with a nice tame film review! JK Matthew Vaughn.

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Starring: Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson, Michael Caine
Director: Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class)
Rating: MA15+
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As far as spy movie send-ups go (and there are many), Kingsman: The Secret Service is not the kind of straightforward spoof you might expect going into the cinema. Yes, it’s got fine suits and fancy James Bond gadgets and a larger-than-life villain, and it certainly pokes fun at those things, while also kind of doing them really well. But it’s also a Matthew Vaughn film through and through, which means if you didn’t enjoy his irreverent, stylishly ultraviolent, occasionally uncomfortable 2010 film Kick-Ass, it’s unlikely you’ll fall for Kingsman. However, if that movie was your cup of tea, you can expect a good time with the Brit’s latest.

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2 Jan

Best of 2014: Top 10 Movies

Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2014, Lists, Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

VR_Bestof2014

My final list for the year was also by far the hardest for me to order. 2014 was an insanely good year for movies, particularly the big budget ones. It was easily my favourite year for movies overall since I started this blog, because for the first time ever there were so many high quality films from which to choose that I could genuinely ignore all those awkward early year films that technically count as 2013 movies in the United States. All thirteen of the films on this page can be counted worldwide as 2014 releases, and that is just so good.

I have my regrets about 2014 at the movies – I didn’t get to see The Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash, Bad Neighbours or 22 Jump Street, didn’t find enough time at the end of the year to watch Snowpiercer, and to be honest I’m kinda bummed I missed 300: Rise of an Empire. But overall I hit a pretty good chunk of my movie targets throughout the year and I stand by this list. I wrote full reviews for the vast majority of these movies, so please check those out via the links provided if you want further information on my thoughts. This has been a lot of fun once again. A happy new year to all!

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VR BEST OF 2014 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s spooky. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
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10. What We Do In the Shadows

If Taika Waititi’s Eagle vs Shark was an indication of his offbeat comedy promise, What We Do in the Shadows is an uproarious confirmation of his talent. The movie has its cake and eats it too as far as vampire movie tropes, cleverly populating its downtown Wellington apartment from hell with vampires from different centuries, each one making use of a different cliche. Jermaine Clemente of Flight of the Conchords fame and newcomer Cori Gonzalez-Macuer are hilarious every time they appear on screen, as is Rhys Darby in a memorable werewolf cameo. Hilarious viewing.
FULL REVIEW: HERE
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30 Dec

Best of 2014: Top 10 Movie Scenes

Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2014, Lists, Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

VR_Bestof2014

Here’s my favourite annual list once again – my personal top ten movie scenes of the year. These are the moments within 2014 films that drew real reactions from me, mostly either of the teary-eyed or the “That was so sick!” nature. Even if they come from otherwise poor movies, I will still remember these cinematic moments, and if they come from otherwise good movies, well those movies just go up a level and look all the better for it.

Naturally, this is the most spoileriffic list of them all, so please proceed with caution.

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VR BEST OF 2014 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s spooky. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
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10. The Final Blow – Godzilla

Jeez, I mean – just… Just LOOK at that shot. Badass doesn’t even begin to describe the moment when Godzilla finally bests the “MUTO” menace in his 2014 return to the big screen. It almost makes up for all the flaws in the rest of the movie. Almost.
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27 Dec

Best of 2014: Top 10 Movie Characters

Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2014, Lists, Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

VR_Bestof2014

Let’s get stuck into talking about some movies, then.

2014 was an unbelievably good year for movies, particularly blockbusters, and the characters they brought along with them to the big screens of the world were pretty universally fun to watch. Whether they were adapted from source material in another medium, based on real life people or entirely new creations, there were plenty to celebrate in 2014. There are some films that even made it really difficult for me to pick just one character for this list (and one instance where I just had to pick two). Without further ado, here is my 2014 list of my personal favourite movie characters.

Some mild plot spoilers will follow.

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VR BEST OF 2014 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s spooky. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
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10. TARS – Interstellar

There was a lot about Interstellar that surprised unsuspecting viewers, from its mind-screw of a plotline to its odd twisting tone to its completely un-telegraphed big name acting cameos. And yet perhaps its biggest sucker punch was the appearance and popularity of the ensemble dark horse TARS, a space-faring robot companion with a literal “humour setting”, which allows for a rare and refreshing source of comic relief throughout an otherwise very sombre film. It isn’t just the sarcastic zingers that make him so memorable, though. His visual design is unusually far from the standard Hollywood robot archetype, consisting of four magnetic rectangular prisms that work together to grant the bot a deceptive range of mobility and functionality. Very cool.
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22 Dec

Best of 2014: Top 10 Disappointments

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, K-Pop, Lists, Movies, Music. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

VR_Bestof2014

Last year I began my year-end countdowns with a list of a more negative flavour than the stuff I’m usually inclined to write, but it received a pretty substantial amount of attention (who knew?) and was a refreshing challenge to put together, so here we are with its 2014 return. I present my opinion on the top 10 entertainment media disappointments of 2014.

In the early months of the year, I didn’t have much of a list building. Almost every widely anticipated movie proved to exceed expectations rather than dip below them, and as for videogames, despite a relative six month drought of major releases, there was always something good to play. Then, in the second half of 2014, things started to unravel, with huge, emotionally charged media stories abounding over controversial issues. They were mostly gaming related, which stung a bit, but that was fine with me in at least one department, as it ensured I wouldn’t have to think up a new type of list for 2014. Here we go.

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VR BEST OF 2014 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s spooky. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
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10. Interstellar fell short of the hype

One could make the point that no movie of 2014 felt the weight of expectation more than Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. Many people, myself included, waited with baited breath for more details to be revealed about the sci-fi epic following a highly cryptic opening teaser and an even less transparent first trailer. Few would disagree that Nolan’s highly impressive track record justified the kind of hype afforded to Interstellar, but when the disappointing first wave of reviews came through for the American release of the film, that hype backfired. Then, as my free time began to dissipate due to new commitments, a lot of my friends started to see it without me, and several of them raved about it. So my hopes were raised again – then I saw it myself. While I do think Interstellar is a good movie, even a very good one, I just can’t get past its messy attempts at sentimentality which, for me, place it below every other (admittedly excellent) Nolan movie thus far. It’s a compliment to the director, really.
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24 Nov

Movie Review: The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1

Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Have I missed my window to see Interstellar? No, surely not. I will make time. Meanwhile, check out yet another 2014 blockbuster in pretty damn good form:

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Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore
Director: Francis Lawrence (Constantine, I am Legend)
Rating: M
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So here we are, dear friends, embroiled in the hype of yet another young adult novel film adaptation that has been arbitrarily split into more movies than there were books, all in the name of making more money from fans. Like Harry Potter and Twilight in days gone past, as well as the Divergent series in the near future, Suzanne Collins‘ Hunger Games novel trilogy is now a quadrilogy because of reasons, and as usual, it’s the final book that has copped the razor. Given this phenomenon, it will surprise absolutely no-one that the inherently incomplete Mockingjay Part 1 is the weakest film in the series thus far. Yet the things it accomplishes are so impressive and so on-point with Collins‘ original narrative vision that I have to recommend it to pretty much all fans of the series anyway.

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14 Nov

Movie Review: John Wick

Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

Any Keanu fans in the house?

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Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Willem Defoe
Director: Chad Stahelski (New)
Rating: MA15+
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Say what you will about Keanu Reeves, but there is one kind of role he does really, even spectacularly, well. When he’s on a screen, not saying anything, dropping villains and acting like a general badass, there are few who can match his magnetism. That’s what helps make his latest film, John Wick, one of the most surprising movie outings of the year, but it isn’t what makes it an instant recommendation from yours truly if you enjoy action. No, what makes it so good is its astonishingly effective commitment to world building within a short time frame. If you enjoyed Liam Neeson‘s Taken but wished every one-man-army action movie since its release hadn’t felt exactly the same, you need to go see John Wick.

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