LOOKING LIKE A TRUE SURVIVOR

MOVIE
Rocketman
Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell 
Director Dexter Fletcher
Review Ray Chan

Cast aside all comparisons to Bohemian Rhapsody.

    Rocketman may tell the story of a musical superstar whose musical legacy is as enduring as Freddie Mercury’s, but that’s where the similarities end.

    In this biopic about Elton Hercules John, director Dexter Fletcher and screenwriter Lee Hall employ the artist’s songs to actually tell the story, akin to a Broadway musical where the music creates and feeds the narrative, with each phase of Elton’s life converted into lavish numbers.

    For young Reginald Dwight, it began with an innate ear for sound. When he hears a piece of music on the radio, he is able to play it back on the piano immediately. At an audition, he easily repeats what the teacher was practising, all from memory.

    The story is told essentially in flashback, with an outlandishly-suited Elton bursting into a support group circle to talk about his various addictions (sex, drugs, rock'n'roll and anger management), which takes place in his much-publicised stint in rehab back in 1990.
    The rolling back of the years begins with his five-year old self (Matthew Illesley) singing The Bitch Is Back, backed up by his neighbours. His aloof mum, emotionally-removed dad and his loving gran help provide the vocals for what is essentially the theme coursing through the veins of the film, I Want Love.    
    Along the way he is connected with songwriter Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell), who ends up becoming his lyricist for the next 50 years, authoring nearly all of the pianoman's hits.
    Elton’s search for love and acceptance results in an attempt to merge the platonic and the romantic with his new BFF, who respectfully declines, leading him down the path to John Reid (Richard Madden), who becomes his lover and manager, but with contemptible intentions as both.
    The journey conveys us through the glory years, when Elton was the hottest ticket on Earth and proved to be as much a Rock-It Man as a Rocketman, and the despondent times, when the sun went down on him and he attempted suicide. 
    Egerton himself is no stranger to the real Elton, who had a pivotal role in the former’s Kingsman sequel. The actor can carry a tune and does himself no disservice in his renditions from Elton’s songbook.
    Despite blacked-out teeth to simulate Elton’s gappy incisors, viewers may note that there really isn't that close a resemblance. But this works in Egerton's favour, as he is able to create an exalted version of the artist that’s all his own and less of a direct impersonation.

    There's an all-too short sequence featuring the ill-fated wedding to Renata (which took place in Australia, of course, though there's no indication in the movie) which begs the question of why it was included in the first place. But the film ends on a high, with a perfect re-creation of Elton’s old I’m Still Standing video, a comeback anthem if there ever was one.

    The knighted performer has been a survivor his entire life and Egerton provides a perfect proxy with which to tell the tale, which certainly whets the appetite for Elton's farewell concert in Australia later this year. 

#rocketman #nrccommunications

SLASH AND BURN

MOVIE
Brightburn
Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn 
Director David Yarovesky
Review Ray Chan

The concept has been toyed with in comic books before, but this is the first time it’s been brought to the screen: what if an alien boy who crash lands on Earth turns out to be evil instead of fighting for truth, justice and the American way?
    In Brightburn, the baby in a rocketship, first seen as a godsend to a couple who have been trying for years to conceive a child, begins to manifest a mission for death, destruction, and world domination as he nears puberty.
    And he doesn’t hold back. Indeed, the movie leans into blood and gore to accentuate just how powerful this being becomes. Make no mistake, this is more a horror offering than a stock super-hero feature.
    Tori Breyer (Elizabeth Banks) and her husband Kyle Breyer (David Denman) live in the small town of Brightburn, Kansas, where they find the baby and adopt him, naming him Brandon.
    When the boy (Jackson A. Dunn) reaches his teens, the ship he arrived in begins influencing his mind, mixing in a desire to take over the planet along with his hormonal urges, resulting in wanton destruction and in particularly gruesome murders of various individuals.
    Much of the film is spent on the carnage, and in pretty horrific detail, though Brandon’s powers are shown in a way that doesn’t suggest any kind of shoestring budget.
    In an era where horror movies can appear to be jaded, Brightburn literally burns bright as an homage to how the genre can still get the adrenaline flowing with a clever mix of jump scares and truly frightening effects.
    The deaths here aren’t simple murders. They’re the kinds of intricately designed, lovingly presented acts of sadistic brutality that characterised many slasher flicks, turning them into orgies of crimson viscera.
    If the very concept of an evil version of Superman excites you, and you get a boost from bloodshed and butchery, Brightburn will entertain in a big way. The stamp of super-hero filmmaker James Gunn (whose brothers wrote the script) is all over this one, even though the directorial duties are carried out by David Yarovesky.
    The darkly funny aspect to the film is never overplayed, and instead serves to keep this from being a morbid experience. Dunn is solid as a stereotypical child demon, bringing back memories of Damien in the Omen series, and the aura of nastiness he exudes will be sure to attract viewers to the inevitable sequels to watch him get his just desserts.
    While the movie only scratches the surface of its promise and potential, what it ends up with is definitely good enough to justify a recommendation.
    Remember the smaller scale that it’s playing on and don’t go in expecting a blockbuster. With that in mind, there’s a good chance you’ll find a substantial amount of fun here.

#brightburn #sonypictures

A POKé BOWL OF CHAOS AND CREATIVITY

MOVIE
Detective Pikachu
Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith
Director Robert Letterman
Review Ray Chan

THE concept of Pokemon, the Japanese pocket monsters, became a favourite of my toddler daughter back when it was launched in the mid-90s.
    Ignoring the lure of bananas in pyjamas, purple-hued dinosaurs and a pachyderm named Johnson, she fell in love with the world of teenager Ash Ketchum, who aimed to catch and train as many of the Pokemon as he could and become the ultimate Pokemon master.
    As the suffering parent who had to endure the TV shows, video games and movies along with her, it wasn’t long before I too became more than familiar with the premise of human beings traipsing around and collecting the innocent creatures from their habitats in the wild.
    However, for those not as informed about the critters, the entire Poke-universe can seem befuddling, couched as it is in the abstract thinking of Japanese societal conventions: examples include “animals” which are basically eggs in a nest, others which permanently hold microphones and sing people to sleep, living sand castles and key-chains, and curious characters which only communicate in mime. To add to the oddity, they can evolve into bigger, stronger versions of themselves.
    So one wonders what such viewers will make of Detective Pikachu, the first live-action movie featuring a whole array of Pokemon skittering and swarming, crawling, jumping and flying about with vertiginous abandon, and based on a video game where the player works with the cuddly yellow rodent to solve various mysteries.
    The movie follows the formula set by more than 20 animated Pokemon movies: it’s busy and full of frantic activity, cluttered beyond the eye’s focus, and packed with overlong action scenes typified by chaos, plenty of running and screaming, and a whole lot of falling down.
    It’s exaggerated humour as some cultures love it, reminiscent of Japanese game shows with insane and embarrassing challenges, bright flashing lights, and supremely enthusiastic hosts. 
    How will it fare with Western audiences? Certainly, the first act is interesting enough to hold the viewer’s interest, as we see the Poke-plethora rendered into reality via CGI. The effects are impressive and many of the individuals, even the most absurd, exhibit enough of a lifelike resemblance to sustain intrigue and attention.
    There’s no Ash in this movie, the titular lad around whom all previous Pokemon adventures revolved. Instead, as director Rob Letterman goes for a quasi film-noir visual quality, it centres on Tim (Justice Smith), a young 20-something who’s summoned to the massive metropolis of Ryme City (set somewhere in an Asian country), where Pokemon and humans live in peace, to learn that his estranged detective father Harry has been killed in a fiery car crash. 
    Devastated, Tim vows to uncover what caused the accident, aided by Harry’s pet Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), who has amnesia and can’t explain why no one can find Harry’s body. 
    Donning a Sherlock Holmes cap, “Detective” Pikachu is convinced Harry is alive, which gives Tim hope, although it only draws them into a deeper mystery concerning the nefarious forces behind Harry’s accident. Cue many adventures in which they encounter Pokemon of various shapes and sizes.
    Reynolds, of course, is best known of late as the wisecracking Deadpool, and here he essentially plays a family-friendly version of that cynical superhero. But although he delivers some choice quips (including singing the original Pokemon theme song), much of his dialogue feels improvised, indicating he may have needed to ad lib in order to freshen up a mediocre screenplay, which is credited to several writers.
    Unfortunately, the banter between the two main protagonists is also somewhat lucklustre, and typifies the mystery plot, which is confusing and only occasionally compelling.
    Still, on the whole, while Detective Pikachu misses more than it hits, many ideas are carried out to bold effect, even when they’re mishandled. 
    For the fans of the franchise, catching a glimpse of their cherished Pokemon come to life is reason enough to watch the movie with glee. And in fact, some diehards might even complain that not enough of the Pokemon were shown.
    For the others, it’s a matter of getting acquainted with a unique form of covenance that may seem unfamiliar to them. Like much of Japanese anime, Detective Pikachu displays disregard for logic or physics, sometimes making up its own rules with such confidence that the viewer has no choice but to relent. 
    Because the film zooms along on its own dissonant wavelength, it may leave these viewers feeling indifferent yet fascinated at the very least, if never entirely happy with the final destination.
    Neither a Poke-fanatic nor a stranger to the mythos, I found the journey there to be a suprisingly enjoyable one, with the film reconnecting me with characters and concepts from a happy time gone past when my daughter had not yet even started kindergarten. While she's definitely outgrown her childhood obsession, Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri's legacy continues in the household, with an over-sized Pikachu doll keeping her own toddler son secure in bed at night.

#detectivepikachu #pikapika #buzzmarketing